To the Point
Is There Too Much Government Secrecy or Not Enough?
A survey shows that increasing numbers of Americans think the federal government has become cloaked in secrecy. Last week, the House passed four so-called "sunshine" laws, two of which President Bush has threatened to veto. Does secrecy destroy confidence in represented government? In times of war, is it best to err "on the side of caution?" Plus, the Senate votes to rescind the president's unilateral power to replace federal prosecutors and, on Reporter's Notebook, the UN and Iraq's humanitarian crisis.
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenA survey shows that increasing numbers of Americans think the federal government has become cloaked in secrecy. Last week, the House passed four so-called "sunshine" laws, two of which President Bush has threatened to veto. Does secrecy destroy confidence in represented government? In times of war, is it best to err "on the side of caution?" Plus, the Senate votes to rescind the president's unilateral power to replace federal prosecutors and, on Reporter's Notebook, the UN and Iraq's humanitarian crisis.
In this episode
3 storiesSenate Votes to End President's Power to Name Prosecutors
The Senate has voted 94-to-2 to rescind the President's unilateral power to replace US attorneys. Meantime, Mr. Bush called Alberto Gonzales this morning to reaffirm what the White House called "strong backing" of his Attorney General. Evan Perez covers the Justice Department for the Wall Street Journal .
Read the story6 minIs Our Government Keeping Too Many Secrets?
Bill Clinton's Attorney General, Janet Reno, ordered that government agencies should tell American citizens what they wanted to know, as long as it would "do no harm." After September 11, John Ashcroft changed the standard to tell the public less, rather than more, saying he would defend in court any legal argument against releasing…
Read the story34 minUN Says Iraqi Refugee Crisis Going Unnoticed
Before the Iraq war began, the Pentagon was planning for a mass exodus of refugees. When the initial invasion went so fast, that was one of the many predictions that did not come true. Now, after years of deadly violence, it has. The UN's refugee agency says there's been "abject denial" of Iraq's humanitarian crisis by the rest of the world.
Read the story9 min
