Apparently the U.S. Justice Department has decided to take the "free" out of the Freedom of Information Act.

Last year, a liberal interest group, People for the American Way Foundation, petitioned the Justice Department for its records relating to the legal proceedings against immigrants swept up by government agencies following the 9/11 attacks. The group suspected a lot of innocent people with suspicious-sounding names or Middle Eastern appearance got pulled into the government dragnet for terrorists.

Justice Department officials dragged their feet on this entirely legal and reasonable request for public information to be made public, but finally agreed to do so - at a price. Government officials told People for the American Way Foundation that they could have the documents, but first they'd have to pay a fee of $372,799, a figure arrived at by multiplying the estimated time needed to gather the papers - 13,316.25 hours - times $28 per hour for the work. That price did not include the standard 10-cents-a-page copying fee.

As if that demand was not outrageous enough, the Justice Department said the foundation would have to wait up to a year for the documents.

Sort of puts a chill on the whole concept of freedom of information, doesn't it.

But it shouldn't be all that surprising. Government agencies have an annoying habit of dragging their feet on releasing information that could be potentially damaging or embarrassing to the agency. It's part of the strategy of secrecy and obfuscation employed by the Bush administration and former Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft.

Until October 2001, Ashcroft's Justice Department had been adhering to the Clinton administration's policy of promoting open dissemination of public records. Since then, Ashcroft and his minions have taken every opportunity to withhold information from the public, with only the slightest legal justification.

Advertisement

Some costs could be expected in demands for government documents, but asking nearly $400,000 - in advance - for documents in the 9/11 roundup case is a clear demonstration of a government agency working against the interests of the Americans who pay the bills.

To properly follow the rules and the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act, the government should provide documents and records at a reasonable cost to citizens. Otherwise, making government fully accountable to taxpayers will be reserved for millionaires. That's not how the system is supposed to work.

Feb. 14, 2005