JUDGE TODAY RULES THAT WHITE HOUSE VISITOR LOGS ARE SUBJECT TO FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS 
 

Washington, Aug 18 -

WASHINGTON – “While candidate for President, Obama repeatedly promised that his Administration would be the most open and transparent in history,” stated Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.  “In May, I held a hearing to examine the Administration’s policies on transparency and to see what else can be done to ensure the White House follows through on these commitments.  Obviously, this court decision holds the President to his promise.”

A report by the Center for Public Integrity found that thousands of known visitors to the White House are missing from the logs and the event description for more than 20 percent of the visits is left blank.  In the hearing held on May 3, 2011, Stearns examined how visitor records are collected, the White House policy for releasing this information, and if meetings with lobbyists and other interested groups occurred outside of the White House to avoid generating records of these visits. 

In an ongoing pattern of obstruction, the White House has failed to turn over documents requested in the committee’s investigation of closed-door health reform meetings, and the committee was forced to issue a subpoena to acquire documents related to the loan guarantee investigation. On May 3, 2011, the Administration failed to produce a witness for an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing to discuss concerns with transparency, visitor logs, and lobbyists. For more information, click here http://stearns.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=239436

For a detailed account of the committee’s investigations, please click here