Lawyer Defends White House Information Freeze

By: Joe Strupp White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales seemed to know instinctively that his comments to the Associated Press Managing Editors on Thursday would illicit groans. His first words to the lunchtime crowd of more than 300: "There is a danger for the president's lawyer to be addressing a roomful of editors."

After an initial chuckle from the group, gathered here for its annual conference, the audience turned serious, even concerned, as Gonzales spoke. He said the Bush administration will follow the law regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and the release of other documents, but added that it will gladly withhold information if deemed necessary.

"You have a right to know what is going on in government," he told the crowd. "But we also believe such rights are not absolute."

Addressing concerns that the administration has been quick to withhold sensitive information in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Gonzales offered little hope that restrictions would be eased. "Our policy is that we expect [federal] agencies to follow the law," he said in response to a question about FOIA requests being delayed or ignored. "If an exception exists, [agencies] can follow the law. If [they] decide to withhold information that is permissible under law, [they] may do so."

In defending the administration, Gonzales pointed out that the president had invoked executive privilege to block the release of federal documents only once since taking office. He also said that only 200 lawsuits seeking FOIA disclosures had been filed during Bush's first year in office, compared to 600 in the last two years of the Clinton administration.

"I am confident that history will confirm that the administration did what it thought was necessary," Gonzales said.

But several editors in attendance said his remarks showed a clear effort to keep as much information secret as possible. "When a message is given out to government that they don't have to give out documents if they don't want to, that shows they are antagonistic to open records," said George Stanley, managing editor of the Milwaukee (Wis.) Journal Sentinel.

Ken Tuck, deputy managing editor of The Dothan (Ala.) Eagle, agreed. "It sounds like we may not get what we need when we need it."