4.27.2006

What's Behind the Massive Reclassification of Previously Public Records?

It's a really good question, and we're seeing this with the CIA's efforts to steal documents from late investigative journalist's Jack Anderson archives.

The UK Guardian brings us this (God forbid our own media tell us anything useful):

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government improperly sealed hundreds of previously public CIA, Pentagon and other records by reclassifying them as secret on questionable grounds, an internal review said Wednesday.
The National Archives' audit of thousands of records withdrawn from public view since 1995 contends that one of every three was resealed without justification.

The investigation covered historical records held by the National Archives. But it comes amid broader debate on classifying records on national security grounds, which critics say is often done based on political expediency.

The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the National Archives agreed to seal previously public records - many of them more than 50 years old - despite concerns about whether it was justified.

On the other hand, Democrats have decried the timing of President Bush's 2003 decision to declassify sensitive intelligence and authorize its disclosure to rebut Iraq war critics. In recent weeks, the CIA has fired an employee accused of sharing classified information with news media.