Comments on: White House Secret Media Meeting 5x Longer than McChrystal’s

By: Eric Chesley Esq

Eric Chesley Esq — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:01:57 +0000

Stephanie presents an interesting question. As a general rule the White House is subject to the FOIA. But a large exemption exists for the Presidents immediate personal staff and those whose sole function is to advise and assist the President. It would seem though that the presence of the New York Times and MSNBC columnists destroys this privilege.

http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_updates/Vol_XIV_3/page4.htm

By: Karl Munchausen

Karl Munchausen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:50:26 +0000

@stephanie We saw the meeting widely reported, and when you see who attended it is easy to surmise that it was about media control and strategy. One could be sure they weren't talking about Afghanistan. But we don't really know. We'll have one of our lawyers look into whether this falls under FOIA. My guess is though that the WH rightfully has some ability to keep their meetings private, but I do not know the context of their privacy rights. The gory details of this meeting would be most interesting.

By: stephanie

stephanie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:24:21 +0000

Is this meeting subject to a FOIA request? Can an organization or individual request the minutes to this meeting since it occured at the White House?

By: Sarah M.

Sarah M. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:22:05 +0000

I resent the insinuations in your article. Our new president is time efficient and really knows how to get things done.

Obama manages his time by having special interest groups and lobbyists like the Apollo Alliance and SEIU writing bills and making decisions for him. Apparently his staff just hasn’t found a lobbyist to run the war for him. Be patient, it is just a matter of time…