Sounds like they're already doing this. This would just make it official.
Also interesting is that the change is just a "rule change," not a proposed law. That means that if the rule change takes effect, information could be restricted further without the legislative branch having anything to do with it. It's just the executive alone, completely deciding what to release and what not to -- and now being able to lie about it to boot.
I find it amazing that such a proposed rule change could even be suggested. The inmates are truly running the asylum.
Just to recap, if a federal official asks you a question, it's a felony to lie to them. But if you ask them a question, they want the ability to lie to you as a matter of course.
It's not just lying to the public - in one case, they lied to a judge handling a FOIA request case (to be clear, the article does not suggest that this would be legal under the new rule):
> In a recent case brought by the ACLU (...) the FBI denied the existence of documents. But the court later discovered that the documents did exist. (...) [the] Judge (...) wrote that the “Government cannot, under any circumstance, affirmatively mislead the Court.”
It's pretty clear that a select few documents should not be released. It's much less clear that they should not even be released to the judge.
Also interesting is that the change is just a "rule change," not a proposed law. That means that if the rule change takes effect, information could be restricted further without the legislative branch having anything to do with it. It's just the executive alone, completely deciding what to release and what not to -- and now being able to lie about it to boot.
I find it amazing that such a proposed rule change could even be suggested. The inmates are truly running the asylum.
Just to recap, if a federal official asks you a question, it's a felony to lie to them. But if you ask them a question, they want the ability to lie to you as a matter of course.
Amazing.