The Obama Administration has proposed an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act to allow the government to lie and state that no documents exist, when the documents actually do exist, but are allowed to be withheld under a statutory exception.
Why should the government be allowed to hide the existence of documents, when they could comply with existing law and say that the documents exist but are being withheld?
President Obama promised that his administration was "committed to operating with an unprecedented level of openness." He even promised to strengthen the FOIA, calling it "the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open government."
What happened? Why is the President asking to change the FOIA rules and allow the government to lie?