EDITORIAL: Incoming President Donald Trump could go a long way toward fending off critics if he took improved on Barack Obama’s dismal record of complying with the Freedom of Information Act

Barack Obama entered office promising the most transparent administration in our history. In reality, his White House set records for stonewalling Freedom of Information requests.

A 2016 review by The Associated Press found that federal agencies under Mr. Obama turned down requests for government documents an incredible 77 percent of the time, up from 65 percent in 2009.

“The review covered 100 federal agencies in 2015,” the Washington Examiner reported. “Agencies that struggled with FOIA requests included the FBI, which couldn’t find responsive records 39 percent of the time. The Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in New York and New Jersey failed 58 percent of the time, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection failed to fulfill about one third of all requests.”

Incoming President Donald Trump could go a long way toward fending off critics if he took the opposite approach.

To Mr. Obama’s credit, he did sign the FOIA Improvement Act last year, which puts into law the presumption that government documents are public information unless there is some compelling reason otherwise. The law gives media organizations more leverage in court.

But it should rarely come to that. The president must establish a culture of transparency and openness that permeates down to recalcitrant bureaucrats who too often prefer to stonewall rather than to cooperate.

Mr. Trump has a combative relationship with the press and, unlike previous candidates, has famously refused to release his tax returns. But he was elected on a promise of “draining the swamp” and holding Washington accountable. Ensuring that his administration greatly improves on his predecessor’s dismal record when it comes to public access to government records would be an easy place to start.