The Costly Right to Know (re: OBL family members whisked away after 9/11)

[katinmn]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/02/opinion/02wed2.html?th
The Costly Right to Know

February 2, 2005

Citizens who rate the Freedom of Information law as priceless had better consider this: The Justice Department is demanding close to $400,000 from a public interest foundation before honoring its request for information on a lingering mystery of 9/11 - the secret numbers of immigrants who were rounded up after the terrorist attacks and never heard from as their court records were sealed. This huge tab, presented to the People for the American Way Foundation, is well beyond established criteria and amounts to an insult to the law's intent: letting citizens in on some of the murkier things the government may be up to.

Justice officials insist that there is no easy way to provide the requested information from scores of regional offices. The law provides for two free hours of searching, but officials presented an estimated bill steeped in Newtonian gibberish, if not outright stonewalling. Let's see, that's 13,314.25 hours at $28 an hour for $372,799, plus more expenses not yet tabulated in other jurisdictions.

-more-

[hlthe2b]

1. If we trulyhad a free press they would enter in with PFAW on request

and publish stories on this DAILY until DOJ complied.

AsssKKKKRoft as much as said he wasn't going to honor FOIA requests. Here's the evidence. Perhaps Gitmo needs to see some high level stonewalling US officials?

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. But we don't have a free press. And the truth is, they probably cost

more than $400,000.

[izzie]

3. And if they do anything to up set the WH this may happen

They may not be let into Bush's Q and A time. Once it was a badge to talk about if the WH got rid of a reporter or would not take these papers any more. Even Kennedy got mad and put them out.

[Elidor]

4. This has nothing to do with OBL family members

It's about detentions, not whisking people away to safety.

[katinmn]

5. That isn't spelled out but could be right. If that's the case, why

isn't anyone questioning why the OBL family members were gathered up and taken safely out of the country - no questions asked.

Just another day in the life of the Bush Regime.