Rope. Tree. Bureaucrat. Some assembly required. This is what happens when you have a bureaucracy that doesn't understand that it works for you. Here's a summary version, and the money quote:
- Brad Heath of USA Today files a Freedom of Information Act request for some information.
- Brian Fallon, with the U.S. Department of Justice, responds by saying he has the information Brad asked for, but won't give it to him.
- Brad asks again, politely but firmly.
- Brian says he's “done negotiating”, and will give the information to another reporter after Brad publishes – and he'll explain to the other reporter why Brad was off-base.
- Brad says “your call” and “I'm not negotiating”.
- Brian then says:
You are not actually open-minded to the idea of not writing the story. You are running it regardless. I have information that undercuts your premise, and would provide it if I thought you were able to be convinced that your story is off base. Instead, I think that to provide it to you would just allow you to cover your bases, and factor it into a story you still plan to write. So I prefer to hold onto the information and use it after the fact, with a different outlet that is more objective about whether an OPR inquiry was appropriate.
The entire email thread is here,
so you can see for yourself what a twit this pathetic, small-minded bureaucrat is. He actually seems to believe that he has the power to withhold information based on his personal
approval of what Brad was
theoretically going to write. Feels more like North Korea than North America...
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