Akkam’s Razor

This post is the compilation of several posts I've written in the past concerning the relationships between Cheney, Rumsfeld, Scalia, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, the Freedom of Information Act, National Security, and the use of leaks.  I intendon editing it for clarity, but for now, this is it.

Richard Nixon, was reasonably close to signing the Freedom of Information Act into law. 

Enter our rogues gallery, namely Dick Cheney, Antonin Scalia, and Donald Rumsfeld.

Fast forward, after Nixon's downfall, to the argument over FOIA. LBJ had reluctantly signed the Freedom of Information Act, but that was structured to make it extremely difficult to use. It was slow, expensive, and basically encouraged government agencies to ignore it. Congress set out to fix FOIA, which President Ford greatly opposed (which is curious, in light of this occurring post-Watergate). A primary abuse of the administration was to stamp everything classified, claiming that the release of items were threats to national security. Congressional legislation was drafted in both Houses to fix these problems, as the administration and several Federal Agencies, like the Department of Justice and the CIA prepared their opposition. Through Congressional wrangling, the exemptions that are in place today, like current law enforcement documents being exempted as well as items related to national security properly classified Top Secret by Executive Order, were inserted into compromise legislation. Even more interesting is the fact that these compromises came from Nixon's desire to work with Congress on this issue as opposed to vetoing it.

The charge against FOIA was led by Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Cheney, and the head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, Anton Scalia. Scalia personally lobbied members of the CIA to contact a White House staffer to voice their opposition. At the same time, Rumsfeld became concerned about leaks.

I love this article, as it sets the tone so perfectly for the Dubya years and the actions of the Nixon gang throughout recent history. Basically, post-Watergate, there was legislation that set out to give the Freedom of Information Act some teeth, and Cheney and Scalia opposed it. After some rising concern about "leaks", Ford and Rumsfeld came around to the Nixon boys line of thinking.

It would be naive to think that leaks are only a function of Republican administrations - all politicians' manipulate the press to one extent or another - but, as I'll discuss later, Cheney raises it to an artform.

"The question remains, why did Buchen and President Ford change their minds? The available documents do not provide a definitive answer, but notes from key meetings in September and October provide clues to Ford's priorities - and these were far from government transparency. For example, handwritten notes of the first White House senior staff meeting presided over by Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Richard Cheney (September 30, 1974) show Rumsfeld's rising concern about leaks, a discussion that takes up a major part of the meeting. Similarly, notes from the National Security Council meeting on October 7, 1974 reveal Ford himself opening the session by complaining about leaks for a full two pages of the transcript, asking for 'recommendations on how to tighten up this system,' and telling his advisers that 'I could have ordered an FBI investigation on this, but Don and I thought it would be better to see what you could do first.'"

Now, what were these leaks? Ford and Rummy had previously supported strengthening FOIA - what changed. The second document from the senior staff meeting in October 1974 involved a 2 New York Times articles related to Israel. Both (link#1, link#2) were from the "Working Group" of the NSC (National Security Council), covered the defensive and offensive capability of the Israelis, as well as their request for future funding. So who did the leaking?  My guess is Kissinger.

Kissinger was known as a leaks man - but usually from the viewpoint that leaks were bad. The "plumbers", who's job was to "fix" leaks, the list of journalists who leaked, and quite possibly the leaks that convinced Rumsfeld and Ford to block the strengthening of FOIA might all be the work of Kissinger. But why? Furthermore, what's the history between our current batch of neoconservatives, Novak, and the leaks of the post Watergate era?

If you investigate the leaks of the past, the explanation for the leaks of the present might come into focus.