DOJ says presidents should be able to sell secrets on eBay

The central dispute is whether presidential records belong to the public or to the president personally. The Justice Department has argued that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, a position that could let presidents keep or dispose of White House files, including sensitive national-security material. Freedom of the Press Foundation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued, and an emergency injunction ordered the White House to comply with the law. At a recent appeals hearing, a judge pressed the government on whether its reasoning would allow a president to sell classified records; the government’s answer was effectively yes. The argument is that public ownership and preservation of presidential records are essential safeguards against secrecy and abuse.

The newsletter also criticizes the administration’s selective declassification efforts, describing recent releases as largely recycled records presented to serve political messaging while FOIA offices and professional archivists are weakened. It warns that politicized intelligence can have grave consequences, pointing to the Bush administration’s promotion of intelligence used to justify the Iraq invasion. Separately, the deaths of 29 people in ICE custody this year, including two at privately run facilities, are offered as evidence that private detention centers should be subject to FOIA so families and the public can learn what happened. The newsletter also notes that a FOIA lawsuit has prompted the FBI to release records on the CIA torture program, illustrating how transparency laws can uncover government conduct.