The Bush "Justice" Department now claims that the White House Office of Administration (which, among other things, handles IT services for the White House) is not subject to the FOIA and does not have to follow the law.
This is the despite the fact that the "Justice" Department’s own website specifically lists the Office of Administration as one of the executive branch agencies that is subject to FOIA.
When did the Bush White House figure out that the Office of Administration was outside (above) the law? At the exact same time FOIA requests were filed for information on why so many emails have mysteriously vanished from the White House, particularly those related to the fired US Attorneys.
The "Justice" Department isn’t even pretending this is a coincidence. Right there in the court files, the "Justice" Department acknowledges this is a brand new concept and 180-degree change in interpretation of the law. Shameless.
gchaucer2 had a great diary on this subject this morning (check it out here!), but it didn’t get the attention it deserved—probably because it was posted so early in the morning. His diary gives the exact details of who is and isn’t subject to FOIA, so check it out.
The AP story does a pretty good job of explaining it all too, including this perfect quote:
"this behavior is perfectly consistent with the way they have handled freedom of information issues over the past six years," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "When they don't want to comply with the law, they just shamelessly argue they are not subject to the law. It's arrogant and disrespectful to citizens."
Update: Let me add one more fact that is oh-so telling. Last year (and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that was under Bush as president and Gonzales as attorney general) the Office of Administration happily complied with 65 FOIA requests. What changed?