Romney Campaign Press Release - Transparent Hypocrisy: Obama's Fast And Furious Broken Promises

"President Obama has run one of the least transparent administrations in American history. Whether hiding lobbyists in coffee shops, cutting back-room deals on Obamacare, or concealing the records of 'Fast and Furious,' President Obama's pledge to be transparent has turned out to be just another broken promise. With no rationale for reelection and no plan to help middle-class Americans, President Obama has resorted to running a campaign of distraction, distortion and dishonesty." —Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

After Slamming The Use Of Executive Privilege During His 2008 Campaign, President Obama Is Now Using It To Avoid Telling Americans The Truth About Operation "Fast And Furious":

With His Attorney General Facing Contempt Of Congress Charges, President Obama Invoked Executive Privilege To Avoid Public Disclosure. "Just as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was about to vote Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena for documents in the flawed Fast and Furious gun-tracking case, President Obama asserted executive privilege and backed up the attorney general's position in refusing to turn over the material." ("Obama Invokes Executive Privilege Over Fast And Furious Documents," Los Angeles Times, 6/20/12)

The New York Times: "Executive Privilege Cannot And Should Not Be Allowed To Shield The Executive Branch From Regular, Valuable Congressional Oversight." "On Wednesday, for the first time since he was elected, President Obama invoked executive privilege on the disputed documents. Doing so now bars prosecution of Mr. Holder in federal court should the full House vote to hold him in contempt of Congress. Executive privilege cannot and should not be allowed to shield the executive branch from regular, valuable Congressional oversight." (Editorial, "A Pointless Partisan Fight," The New York Times, 6/20/12)

The Los Angeles Times: "One Of The Most Disappointing Attributes Of The Obama Administration Has Been Its Proclivity For Secrecy ... Obama Should Reread His Pronouncements About Transparent Government." (Editorial, "Obama's Secrets," Los Angeles Times, 10/31/11)

San Antonio Express-News: "Obama Has Abandoned Transparency." (Editorial, "Obama Has Abandoned Transparency," San Antonio Express-News, 6/23/12)

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Obama's Invocation Of Executive Privilege "Makes Clear His Campaign Promise Of Transparency Was Nothing But Empty Rhetoric." "President Obama's invoking executive privilege to stymie a congressional committee's quest for documents related to how the Justice Department came to mislead the panel in its probe of Operation Fast and Furious may slow down the investigation, but it makes clear his campaign promise of transparency was nothing but empty rhetoric." (Editorial, "Executive Privilege Wrong Response In Probe Of Gun Walking Operation," Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 6/22/12)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Either The White House Lied Or The White House Lied." "By now declaring executive privilege, the administration is legally stipulating that there was direct White House involvement. And it has placed itself in Catch-22 jeopardy: It was more intimately involved in Fast and Furious than previously stated and it has been involved in nothing less than a cover-up to prevent that public disclosure. Either the White House lied or the White House lied. Whether it has done so to prevent being embarrassed politically or to shield criminal activity remains the question." (Editorial, "Obama's Catch-22," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/22/12)

Click To Watch Then-Senator Obama Criticize The Secrecy Of Executive Privilege

From The Very Beginning, President Obama Turned His Back On His Campaign Promises Of Openness And Transparency:

Only Months Into The Administration's Term, Observers Had Already Noted "A Series Of Cases In Which Obama Officials Have Opted Against Public Disclosure." "[L]ast week public-interest groups were dismayed when his own administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service logs showing the identities of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Obama's 'clean coal' policies. One reason: the disclosure of such records might impinge on privileged 'presidential communications.' The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclosure." (Michael Isikoff, "Obama Closes Doors On Openness," Newsweek, 6/20/09)

Government Secrecy Is "Worse Than Ever Under The Obama Administration." "This is why the U.S. Government's fixation on secrecy — worse than ever under the Obama administration, as evidenced by its unprecedented war on whistleblowers — is so pernicious. It not only enables government officials to operate in the dark, which inevitably ensures vast (though undiscovered) abuses of power." (Glenn Greenwald, "Obama Takes Bush's Secrecy Games One Step Further," Salon, 3/26/12)

The Associated Press: "Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress." ("Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress," The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

"The Sunlight Foundation Said It Was 'Disappointed' In Obama For Not Delivering A More Transparent Government." (Jordy Yager, "Watchdogs Look To Pressure President Obama After Solyndra, LightSquared," The Hill, 9/17/11)

What About President Obama's Furious Retreat From His Promise To Hold Obamacare Negotiations On C-SPAN — Instead Holding Them In Secret?

Obama Repeatedly Promised To Broadcast His Administration's Health Care Reform Deliberations On C-SPAN. "Naked Emperor News complied video clips of eight instances of Obama promising to broadcast those negotiations on C-SPAN 'so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies', as he said during one speech." (Lachlan Markey, Op-Ed, "Gibbs Refuses To Address Question About Obama's Broken C-SPAN Promises," The Wall Street Journal, 1/8/10)

Obama, In 2008: "What We Will Do Is, We'll Have The Negotiations Televised On C-SPAN, So That People Can See Who Is Making Arguments..." OBAMA: "I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At A Town Hall Meeting, Chester, VA, 8/21/08)

As President, Obama Completely Reversed Course: "He Hasn't Delivered ... Promise Broken." "Obama promised — repeatedly — an end to closed-door negotiations and complete openness for the health care talks. But he hasn't delivered. Instead of open talks of C-SPAN, we've gotten more of the same — talks behind closed doors at the White House and Congress. ... We rate this Promise Broken." ("Obama Said He'd Televise Health Reform Negotiations On C-SPAN," PolitiFact, 7/10/09)

"The Two Biggest Deals So Far — Industry Agreements To Cut Drug And Hospital Costs — Were Reached In Secret." "He'd describe how televised deliberations would take place around a big table, with seats filled by doctors, nurses, insurers and other interested parties. As president, he'd joke, he'd get the biggest chair. 'Not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN,' Obama explained in a Democratic debate in Los Angeles in January 2008, in language similar to many of his campaign stops. However, the two biggest deals so far — industry agreements to cut drug and hospital costs — were reached in secret. 'They were private, yes,' said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., a key participant in the process." ("Obama Campaign Vow Of Public Debate On Health Care Fading," McClatchy, 7/9/09)

What About The Thousands Of Missing Names And Missing Details From The White House Visitors Logs?

White House Visitor Logs "Routinely Omit Or Cloud Key Details About The Identity Of Visitors, Whom They Met With And The Nature Of Their Visits." "Similarly, the [White House visitor] logs are missing the names of thousands of other visitors to the White House, including lobbyists, government employees, campaign donors, policy experts and friends of the first family, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity. Yet the Center's analysis shows that the logs routinely omit or cloud key details about the identity of visitors, whom they met with and the nature of their visits. The logs even include the names of people who never showed up." (Viveca Novak And Fred Schulte, "W.H. Visitor Logs Leave Out Many," Politico, 4/13/11)

Politico: White House Staffers Routinely End-Run Public Disclosure By Listing Low-Level Staffers As The Visitee. "Another practice calling into question the veracity of the logs: Junior White House staff members routinely list themselves as the 'visitee,' or person being visited, when in fact the visitor has arrived to see someone higher up the chain of command. The practice appears to apply to the commander in chief in some instances." (Viveca Novak and Fred Schulte, "White House Visitor Logs Leave Out Many," Politico, 4/13/11)

Center For Public Integrity: Less Than 1% Of White House Visits From Obama's First Eight Months In Office Have Been Disclosed. "Less than 1 percent of the estimated 500,000 visits to the White House in Obama's first eight months — a time when the new administration was bustling with activity — have been disclosed, according to the Center's analysis." (Viveca Novak and Fred Schulte, "White House Visitor Logs Leave Out Many," Politico, 4/13/11)

What About The Off-Site Meetings Between Lobbyists And White House Staffers That Have Gutted The Administration's Transparency Claims?

Obama Officials Have Met "Hundreds Of Times" With Lobbyists At A Coffee Shop Across The Street From The White House. "Here at the Caribou on Pennsylvania Avenue, and a few other nearby coffee shops, White House officials have met hundreds of times over the last 18 months with prominent K Street lobbyists -- members of the same industry that President Obama has derided for what he calls its 'outsized influence' in the capital." (Eric Lichtblau, "Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists," The New York Times, 6/24/10)

The White House Also Met With Lobbyists In A Complex Just Off The White House Grounds. "Caught between their boss's anti-lobbyist rhetoric and the reality of governing, President Barack Obama's aides often steer meetings with lobbyists to a complex just off the White House grounds — and several of the lobbyists involved say they believe the choice of venue is no accident." (Chris Frates, "Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site," Politico, 2/24/11)

By Holding The Meetings With Lobbyists At Jackson Place, The Obama Administration Is Able To Evade Their Own Transparency Rules And The Secret Service Background Checks. "The Jackson Place townhouses are a different story. There are no records of meetings at the row houses just off Lafayette Square that house the White House Conference Center and the Council on Environmental Quality, home to two of the busiest meeting spaces. The White House can't say who attended meetings there, or how often. The Secret Service doesn't log in visitors or require a background check the way it does at the main gates of the White House." (Chris Frates, "Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site," Politico, 2/24/11)

The Meetings Are Diverted Off Grounds Once Lobbyists Have To Meet With Obama Staffers More Than Once Or Twice. "They say the White House is generally happy to meet with them and their clients once or twice, but get leery when an issue requires multiple visits and begin pushing for phone calls or meetings outside the White House's gates. 'Without question, I think that there's a lot of concern about being seen meeting with the same lobbyists or particular lobbyists over and over again,' said one business lobbyist, who has been to Jackson Place meetings." (Chris Frates, "Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site," Politico, 2/24/11)

The Meetings Are Pushed Out Of The White House So That They Are Kept "Off The Books" And Hidden From The Public. "The White House scoffs at the notion of an ulterior motive for scheduling meetings in what are, after all, meeting rooms. But at least four lobbyists who've been to the conference rooms just off Lafayette Square tell POLITICO they had the distinct impression they were being shunted off to Jackson Place — and off the books — so their visits wouldn't later be made public." (Chris Frates, "Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site," Politico, 2/24/11)