Peeling back the layers of cover up about Benghazi attack

Washington Examiner Editorial:

Slowly but surely the truth is coming out on the many measures taken by the Obama administration to suppress information about the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Documents recently obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Judicial Watch reveal that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s minions told a British firm under contract to provide security to the Benghazi facility to say nothing to the news media.

State Department contracting officer Jan Visintainer told the firm that “the best way to deal with the inquiries is to either be silent or provide no comments.” This is yet another illustration that President Obama’s promise that his would be the “most transparent administration ever” was no better than the one about being able to keep your health insurance plan and your doctor under Obamacare.

The fact that a State Department official counseled a government contractor not to provide information the public has a right to know under the FOIA highlights that vital law’s biggest flaw: Nobody in government fears the consequences of breaking it. The FOIA requires government officials to do many things to insure that Americans can obtain copies of public documents (subject only to nine exemptions, the most important of which are national security and personal privacy). But there is nothing about going to jail or paying heavy fines for violating the FOIA.
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Congress may need to add some teeth to the Freedom of Information process, but it will probably take a new administration to get it done.  In the meantime it can investigate the process and name and shame those who try to thwart the act.