CNN’s Ed Henry asked White House spokesman Robert Gibbs about the claim that the Obama administration “selectively declassified” some of the Justice Department memos in order to avoid disclosing information demonstrating that the interrogations produced valuable intelligence. (See here for background.) Good question. Gibbs first responded: “I would suggest that you contact the CIA.” When reporters told Gibbs that this effectively means that the documents will remain under seal, he said: “They’re not going to give them to you. They’re coincidentally not going to give them to me.” Maybe not. But they’d give them to the president. And the president, of course, can declassify and release the entire memos if he chooses. The most transparent White House in history is choosing to keep them hidden.
