Why Bush Signed Off From Cyberspace

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

------- Original message -------
From:  <eekid () aol com>
Sent: 15/4/'05,  10:46

 Mr. Farber,

I sent this to you this morning but for some reason, it was returned as undeliverable.

Jerry

-----Original Message-----
From: EEkid
To: dave () farber net
Sent: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 6:04:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Subject: Why Bush Signed Off From Cyberspace

Why Bush Signed Off From Cyberspace
'I Don't Want You Reading My Personal Stuff,' He Tells Editors
By DEB RIECHMANN, AP
WASHINGTON (April 14) - President Bush said Thursday that the public should know as much as possible about government 
decision-making, but national security and
 personal privacy - including his - need to be protected.
''I believe in open government,'' Bush said at a meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. ''I've always 
believed in open government. I don't e-mail
, however. And there's a reason: I don't want you reading my personal stuff.''
Bush once was a prolific e-mailer. But he signed off from cyberspace just before taking office in 2001 after lawyers 
told him that his presidential e-mail commu
nications would be subject to legal and archival requirements.
''There's got to be a certain sense of privacy,'' Bush said. ''You're entitled to how I make decisions and you're 
entitled to ask questions, which I answer. I d
on't think you're entitled to read my mail between my daughters and me.''
White House records are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows reporters and others to obtain 
unclassified government records that official
s would not otherwise release.
Official presidential documents are subject to eventual release under the federal Presidential Records Act unless they 
are classified or otherwise exempt for re
asons, including personal privacy.
Steve Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy Project, said, ''Protecting the president's 
personal e-mail does not in any way just
ify the pattern of withholding that we've seen.''
Aftergood said classification activity is increasing, records are being withdrawn from government Web sites and access 
barriers are being put in place at readin
g rooms at federal agencies.
''Information which used to be easy to obtain is now difficult or impossible to get,'' he said. ''Trivial things such 
as the Pentagon phone directory have been 
marked for official use only and are no longer public.''
Claiming national security concerns, the Bush administration clamped down on declassification of government documents 
after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The trend toward keeping more government information secret began even before that and those who advocate for openness 
in government are worried that the freedo
m of U.S. citizens is eroding with every file they are not allowed to read.
Just a month after the terrorist attacks, the administration set a higher threshold for releasing information under the 
Freedom of Information Act.
Under the Clinton administration, federal agencies were urged to resolve disclosure decisions by releasing, not 
withholding, government information. In October 
2001, however, former Attorney General John Ashcroft changed that policy.
In a memo, Ashcroft required federal agencies to carefully consider national security, law enforcement concerns and 
personal privacy before releasing informatio
n. Ashcroft reassured the agencies that the Justice Department would defend their decisions not to release any 
information there was a ''sound legal basis'' for
 withholding.
Bush said he knows there is ''tension'' about how the government decides what can be released without jeopardizing the 
fight against terrorism and that there's 
a ''suspicion'' his administration is too security-conscious.
He said he will review a Senate bill to create a 16-member panel that would recommend ways to speed FOIA requests, 
which can drag on for years.
''We look forward to analyzing and working with legislation that would help put a free press' mind at ease that you're 
not being denied information you shouldn'
t see,'' Bush told the editors.
''I will tell you, though, I am worried about things getting in the press that puts people's lives at risk. It's that 
judgment about what would put someone's li
fe at risk and what doesn't is where there's tension,'' the president said.
Bush refused to discuss a high-profile case about a news column that disclosed the identity of CIA officer Valerie 
Plame. Her name was first published in a 2003
 column by Robert Novak, who cited two unidentified senior administration officials as his sources.
The White House has been criticized for outing Plame's identity. Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of 
the New York Times have refused to disclos
e their sources, which federal prosecutors say have stalled their case into who leaked the information.
Asked whether he thought the reporters were right not to reveal their sources, Bush said: ''You think I'm going there? 
You're crazy.''





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