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When President Obama took office, one of the first things he did was to pledge “transparency and open government.” In a formal memo, his administration said it was “committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.” The memo went on to say, “We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.”

Now, 5 years later, it is possible that the Obama Administration may indeed be the least transparent in US history. A detailed analysis by the Associated Press has determined that under Obama, government agencies have denied and delayed more Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests than under Bush. Journalists, lawyers, and rights groups rely on FOIA requests to play a watchdog role over government. However, that ability has severely been hampered through the use of legal excuses.

Writing for Firedoglake.com, reporter Kevin Gosztola makes the case that “The administration seems to expend resources and energy trying to develop strategies to block the release of information to the public more than it spends working to fulfill its pledge to be transparent.”

GUEST: Kevin Gosztola, writer and documentary filmmaker whose blog, The Dissenter, is posted at FireDogLake.

Click here to read Gosztola’s article.