Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today ridiculed White House censoring of a report submitted by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to exclude previously released information. The White House made more than 200 redactions to the public report, sometimes deleting entire sections. These edits resulted in former White House Counsel Lanny J. Davis’s resignation.
The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
"This administration has taken a see-no-evil, speak-no-evil posture. Attempting to keep well-known civil liberties violations secret is nothing short of childish. We clearly see what the administration is trying to hide when White House staff made 200 redactions and edits to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’s report. The board is a toothless entity that blindly and obediently advances the Bush agenda by endorsing its most egregious civil liberties violations. For the administration to take it one step further by censoring the PCLOB’s report is shameless.
"Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Tom Udall (D-NM), have introduced legislation which would take the civil liberties board out from under the president's control and would give it subpoena powers. We strongly support that necessary move to ensure that the board has true oversight powers - and can be a watch dog, not a lap dog."