{"id":5260,"date":"2008-05-08T14:05:05","date_gmt":"2008-05-08T20:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/impeach_bush_blog\/?p=5260"},"modified":"2017-05-21T16:21:29","modified_gmt":"2017-05-21T22:21:29","slug":"bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/","title":{"rendered":"Bush’s “Government in Secret” leaves us wondering what else is under lock and key"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>By Russ Feingold (D-Wis.),\u00c2\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/p>\n

The Bush administration recently announced it will allow select members of Congress to read Justice Department legal opinions about the CIA’s controversial detainee interrogation program that have been hidden from Congress until now. But as the administration allows a glimpse of this secret law – and it is law – we are left wondering what other laws it is still keeping under lock and key.<\/p>\n

It’s a given in our democracy that laws should be a matter of public record. But the law in this country includes not just statutes and regulations, which the public can readily access. It also includes binding legal interpretations made by courts and the executive branch. These interpretations are increasingly being withheld from the public and Congress.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most notorious example is the recently released 2003 Justice Department memorandum on torture written by John Yoo. The memorandum was, for a nine-month period in 2003, the law that the administration followed when it came to matters of torture. And that law was essentially a declaration that the administration could ignore the laws passed by Congress.<\/p>\n

The content of the memo was deeply troubling, but just as troubling was the fact that this legal opinion was classified and its content kept secret for years. As we now know, the memo should never have been classified because it contains no information that could compromise national security if released. In a Senate hearing that I chaired April 30, the top official in charge of classification policy from 2002 to 2007 testified that classification of this memo showed “either profound ignorance of or deep contempt for” the standards for classification.<\/p>\n

(Original Article)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Russ Feingold (D-Wis.),\u00c2\u00a0Los Angeles Times The Bush administration recently announced it will allow select members of Congress to read Justice Department legal opinions about the CIA’s controversial detainee interrogation program that have been hidden from Congress until now. But as the administration allows a glimpse of this secret law – and it is law…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[122,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bush_era","category-impeachment-related-oped"],"yoast_head":"\nBush's "Government in Secret" leaves us wondering what else is under lock and key • Impeach for Peace<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Citizen's impeach strategy. Rules of Congress say citizens can initiate. Once it was used 2 impeach a federal judge.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Impeach for Peace\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/89b599c78169426d15bf2783101edc4a\"},\"headline\":\"Bush’s “Government in Secret” leaves us wondering what else is under lock and key\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-05-08T20:05:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-21T22:21:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":292,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Bush Era\",\"Related Oped\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bush's \\\"Government in Secret\\\" leaves us wondering what else is under lock and key • Impeach for Peace\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-05-08T20:05:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-21T22:21:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/89b599c78169426d15bf2783101edc4a\"},\"description\":\"Citizen's impeach strategy. Rules of Congress say citizens can initiate. Once it was used 2 impeach a federal judge.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/05\\\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg\",\"width\":473,\"height\":599},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Impeach for Peace\",\"description\":\"Citizen Impeachment Tool\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/89b599c78169426d15bf2783101edc4a\",\"name\":\"Impeach for Peace\",\"description\":\"The citizen's Trump impeachment strategy. The rules of Congress stipulate citizens can initiate the process. A Missouri citizen (Luke) used this to impeach a federal judge. Spread the word. https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/cgi-bin\\\/diy.cgi?Trump\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/WeImpeach.org\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/WeImpeach\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/weimpeach\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/weimpeach\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/@WeImpeach\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCnyJ_OG9sOXbbMFLJTBs_yA\",\"https:\\\/\\\/weimpeach.tumblr.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/impeachforpeace.org\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/ifp\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bush's \"Government in Secret\" leaves us wondering what else is under lock and key • Impeach for Peace","description":"Citizen's impeach strategy. Rules of Congress say citizens can initiate. Once it was used 2 impeach a federal judge.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/"},"author":{"name":"Impeach for Peace","@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/89b599c78169426d15bf2783101edc4a"},"headline":"Bush’s “Government in Secret” leaves us wondering what else is under lock and key","datePublished":"2008-05-08T20:05:05+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-21T22:21:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/"},"wordCount":292,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg","articleSection":["Bush Era","Related Oped"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/","url":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/","name":"Bush's \"Government in Secret\" leaves us wondering what else is under lock and key • Impeach for Peace","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg","datePublished":"2008-05-08T20:05:05+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-21T22:21:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/89b599c78169426d15bf2783101edc4a"},"description":"Citizen's impeach strategy. Rules of Congress say citizens can initiate. Once it was used 2 impeach a federal judge.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/bushs-government-in-secret-leaves-us-wondering-what-else-is-under-lock-and-key\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/473px-russ_feingold_official_photo_2.jpg","width":473,"height":599},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/","name":"Impeach for Peace","description":"Citizen Impeachment Tool","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/89b599c78169426d15bf2783101edc4a","name":"Impeach for Peace","description":"The citizen's Trump impeachment strategy. The rules of Congress stipulate citizens can initiate the process. A Missouri citizen (Luke) used this to impeach a federal judge. Spread the word. https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/cgi-bin\/diy.cgi?Trump","sameAs":["http:\/\/WeImpeach.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WeImpeach\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/weimpeach\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/weimpeach\/","https:\/\/x.com\/@WeImpeach","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCnyJ_OG9sOXbbMFLJTBs_yA","https:\/\/weimpeach.tumblr.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/author\/ifp\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}