advocates recognize that someone track of e-mail and other electron-
posting on the “wall” of the presi- ic communications,” Shapiro tells
dent’s Facebook page can’t have Newsmax.
much expectation of privacy. “The White House does not
The problem is the open-ended archive any personally identifi able
nature of the contract, the secrecy information or any information that
surrounding it, and the people in users do not disclose voluntarily on
charge of it. the White House page,” he adds.
“There is an unnaturally high The Bush administration was sued
amount of secrecy surrounding this of any precedent for a President by open government groups such as
proposal,” says the policy center’s asking American citizens to report Citizens Responsibility and Ethics in
Boehm. “This is
moveon.org at the their fellow citizens to the White Washington (CREW), which argued
White House.” House for pure political speech that successfully that the Presidential
Heading the new media team is deemed ‘fi shy’ or otherwise inimi- Records Act applied to e-mails and
is hard-left activist Macon Phillips, cal to the White House’s political required the White House to archive
who generated controversy in August interests,” he wrote. “You should not all electronic communications.
when he called on Obama supporters be surprised that these actions taken CREW was seek-
to report opponents of the president’s by your White House staff raise the ing e-mails relat-
healthcare plans. Phillips claimed the specter of a data collection program.” ing to the fi ring of “
The same
critics were spreading “disinforma- Embarrassed by media coverage, U.S. attorneys but
White House
tion” and “rumors.” the White House dropped the “fl ag” dropped the com- new media team
“Since we can’t keep track of all of address two weeks later and set up a plaint in March after
I
T
Z
R
H them here at the White House, we’re more neutral Web page that allowed the Obama White
that is managing
A
N
I
N
asking for your help. If you get an users to send e-mails with sugges- House agreed to
H
this contract
R
Y
email or see something on the web tions or comments. release the materials.
S
B
N
about health insurance reform that But under this latest data-mining “The Bush admin-
got caught
A
T
I
O
seems fi shy, send it to fl ag@white- program, information from social istration fought tooth twice in just a
S
T
R
U
I
L
L
house.gov,” he wrote on the White networking sites where the White and nail to keep
House blog. House has a presence — in other secret the identities
matter of weeks
That got the attention of Sen. John words, virtually all of them — will be of those who visited for abusing
Cornyn, R-Texas, who fi red off captured into a searchable database the White House,”
a letter to the White several times every day and made said CREW Executive
White House
House warning that available to White House personnel. Director Melanie resources.
this sounded like an Exactly who will have access to Sloan. “In contrast, ”
enemies list. the material? It’s hard to tell: The the Obama administration — by put-
“I am not aware White House did not respond to ting visitor records on the White
three Newsmax requests for a list of House Web site — will have the
people or offi ces with access. most open White House in history.”
“Will this database be shared with CREW legal director Cindy Cohn
the DNC? With Obama for America? went even further, telling Newsmax,
With the Department of Justice?” “Nobody’s anonymous on Facebook.
said the policy center’s Ken Boehm. This program is designed so the
White House spokesman Nick American people can see who’s
Shapiro dismisses critics’ claims that talking to the president. It creates
this is a data-mining effort. accountability.”
“We are committed to protect- Boehm questions the motive,
ing the privacy of our visitors on countering that the White House
the Web. Like previous administra- plan looks more like a “fi rst-rate
tions we are also committed to fol- political intelligence operation aimed
lowing the legal obligations of the at conservatives on the Web. This
Presidential Records Act,” which gives them the possibility to track the
requires the White House to keep opposition in real time.”
NOVEMBER 2009 / NEWSMAX 21
020_AM_whitehousesecrets.indd 21 10/1/09 11:58 AM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108