Obama balking at shield law bill
Even the Obamaphiles at The New York Times are chastising the president over his abandoning of campaign promises to have the most transparent administration since the invention of glass.
The proposed Free Flow of Information Act, also known as a federal reporters’ shield law, is stalled in the Senate as various parties prattle over White House’s backtracking. While Obama as a senator was a shield law sponsor, he now wants to impose wording that would make the executive branch, instead of the judiciary, the final arbiter in matters of national security.
An editorial today in the New York Times, called him on it.
“The best approach is to protect legitimate security claims while rejecting those that are made in the name of national security but are really aimed at avoiding embarrassment. …” the Timesmen opined.
“As president, Mr. Obama has been progressively more protective of executive powers in such sensitive areas as state secrets and detainee policy. It’s time for him to recall that in winning the White House, he spoke vigorously in favor of a shield law that trusts the judiciary to settle disclosure conflicts.”
Some senators are saying Obama’s intransigence is jeopardizing the bill.
Indiana Rep. Mike Pence took to the House floor earlier this year to explain why the bill is so vital to the nation and First Amendment freedoms:
