“President Obama’s actions today are a triumph for the rule of law. His decision to discuss the importance of the rule of law in both his inaugural address and on his first full day in office is a critical step toward fixing the damage done to our Constitution over the last eight years. His commitment to transparency and openness is a welcome reversal from the previous administration’s penchant for secrecy. These actions fall right in line with what I have been pushing for months.
“I am also very pleased that among President Obama’s first executive orders were a lobbyist gift ban and tough restrictions on the revolving door between the executive branch and the lobbying world. This is an issue on which I worked closely with President Obama when he was in the Senate and represents another critical change to the way things are done in Washington. I look forward to working with President Obama and his administration to restore the rule of law and strengthen ethics in government.”
During remarks made today, President Obama said, “…transparency and the rule of law will be touchstones of this presidency.” On December 10th, 2008, Senator Feingold wrote a letter to then President-elect Obama, which included a list of steps to help restore the rule of law. The list included a recommendation to reinstate the presumption of disclosure established by the Clinton administration to defend an agency’s decision to withhold a document only if the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would be harmful to an interest protected by one of the Freedom of Information Act’s exemptions. President Obama accepted that recommendation in his announcement today. Feingold’s December 10th letter is available at http://feingold.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=306282.
