Orwellian? Oh, at least:
A proposed revision to Freedom of Information Act rules would allow federal agencies to lie to citizens and reporters seeking certain records, telling them the records don't exist.
The Justice Department has proposed the change as part of a large revision of FOIA rules for federal agencies. Specifically, the rule would direct government agencies who are denying a request under an established FOIA exemption to “respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist,” rather than citing the relevant exemption.
The proposed rule has alarmed government transparency advocates across the political spectrum, who've called it “Orwellian” and say it will “twist” public access to government.
I guess I've always taken it for granted that the government would like to us if thought it needed to and could get away with it. But it's just a little chilling to see it proposed as official policy. The Justice Department cites a 1987 memo from then-Attorney General Edwin Meese III as evidence of this "long-standing authority," so I guess we can be gratified that there has been bipartisan scumbaggery.
