It's the probe of the $ $ funding (government funding, your tax dollars at work) of Armstrong Williams, who was hired to promote "No Child Left Behind."
The probe hits a snag now. Education Sec'y Spellings would delete/withhold (redact) findings in the report, using a privilege known as a "deliberative process privilege."
Second, the WH refuses to let some officials at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. be interviewed.
AP reported:
The Bush administration is impeding an investigation into the Education Department's hiring of commentator Armstrong Williams by refusing to allow key White House officials to be interviewed . . . .
In addition, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is considering invoking a privilege that he said would require information to be deleted when the final version is publicly released, which is expected within days.
The contract was $1.3 million to the PR firm, Ketchum — with $240,000 of that going directly to the commentator Armstrong Williams.
The money [overall $1.3 million] "went toward the production of ads, the department says, although Williams was also hired to provide air time to Paige and to influence other black commentators to talk about the law, records show." -- link to story
Congressman Miller is asking for the report to be delayed until (1)Spellings agrees to not invoke 'deliberative process privilege' and (2)the WH allows interviews "with current or former officials familiar with the deal."
For any of you who are strongly against the expansion of big government, you should know that the president's government since 2001 has expanded the government's purview (+ spending + influence) into the private press and media.
The expansion of government includes spending and new contracts to public relations firms, video production, and intertangling with the corporate and private production of news. Your government helps "produce" the news, an increasing role for big gov't.
Do you want to know something about it? Well, it's as good as "classified."
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Please see also my diary on SS being robbed overthrown away with the estate tax http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/14/122523/818 It scrolled away, and it was more work than this diary. Fun poll there for freepers too.