November 3, 2011 2:07 pm
The Justice Department said Thursday that it has decided to withdraw a controversial provision to proposed transparency regulations that would have allowed government agencies to mislead people about the existence of information in response to Freedom of Information Act Requests . . .
Ronald Weich, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs, said in a letter that the department not include Section 16.6(f)(2) when issuing final regulations.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, praised the decision to drop Section 16.6(f)(2) in a news release shortly after Weich sent his response to Grassley.
“For five decades, the Freedom of Information Act has given life to the American value that in an open society, it is essential to carefully balance the public’s right to know and government’s need to keep some information secret,” he said. “The Justice Department’s decision to withdraw this proposal acknowledges and honors that careful balance, and will help ensure that the American people have confidence in the process for seeking information from their government.”
read more:
http://www.mainjustice.com/2011/11/03/justice-department-withdraws-controversial-foia-rule-proposal/