Anything to avoid disclosure

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the White House has appealed U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth’s ruling this week which ordered the disclosure of Secret Service visitor logs from the Office of the President and the Vice President’s residence pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. 

Lamberth’s ruling makes this the second time a federal court judge has declared the visitor logs to be public records subject to the FOIA.  And like that earlier ruling, the government this time around again unsuccessfully argued the logs were in the exclusive custody and control of the Office of the Vice President, and therefore not subject to the federal FOIA.  Ideally, the D.C. Circuit will issue an unequivical opinion that ends this machinating once and for all.

While the appeal’s not a shock, it’s a sad reminder that this administration fully intends to expend every conceivable effort until its very last moment in office (and longer) to keep the American people in the dark.