Thursday, November 13, 2014
Justice Department Forced To Release over 64,000 pages Related to "Fast and Furious"
This scandal was a national disgrace to begin with and the need for a court order for the release of the documents further embarrassed the Justice Department. I believe one of the main problems with the federal government is a lack of transparency and this issue proved my point. Do you think the President should be allowed to use executive privilege to withhold information from lawmakers?
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I agree that there is a definite lack of transparency within the federal government that causes major issues. The Fast and Furious program was/is extremely serious, and all information that exists needs to be available to lawmakers, not hidden from them. 64,280 pages of information about this scandal is clearly not something that should be kept in secret! I don't believe the president should have the right to withhold such important information; it could be more detrimental than beneficial.
ReplyDeleteThe government should be honest with the people and on some issues they are pretty transparent with. The information should be accessible to the lawmakers in case they need it. This scandal is obviously a big deal if there are 64,280 pages of information about it...Now I don't know if the president should have the privilege to obtain this information. Like Peachez said, it could be more harmful than helpful.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the lack of open communication and transparency between branches of the government itself is contributing greatly to the political dysfunction that we keep returning to. How is the government as a whole expected to function and effect positive change if most of its members have vital information withheld from them. Not only does it destroy external political efficacy, but it damages the trust of members of congress towards other branches.
ReplyDeleteI definitely do not feel that the President should be allowed to withhold information. This sort of executive privilege is what causes political dysfunction and distrust of the American people. Lawmakers should be given open access to all of the papers.
ReplyDeleteThe president should not be able to withhold information from lawmakers. Withholding important information promotes lack of communication within the government and a lack of external political efficacy. Obviously, the Fast and Furious program failed and the withheld document of over 60,000 pages proves that.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of this Fast and Furious program before this article. My immediate reaction to this program is, "What kind of idea is this?" It seems like a long shot. There HAD to have been better ways to curb drug trafficking along the border than by giving the traffickers weapons.I agree with other posters in that this instance only further reduces the American people's trust in government. The executive branch not only used more power than it should have, but it used more power than it should have in order to hide things from the other branches and the American people. That is doubly bad.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is the same as the rest. The President should not be able to withhold these papers from the lawmakers. This scandal is not something to remain a secret and shouldn't have been a secret in the first place. More and more secrets and dysfunction in the government is what is and will cause more and more distrust in Washington.
ReplyDeleteOkay....When I first heard of this fast and furious stuff I thought it was stupid. I still think it is stupid. People should not be giving guns to drug lords and criminals...bottom line. As for the executive privilege, I believe there are some instances when the president should be able to withhold information (such as when the lives of law enforcement agents are at stake) and some instances when he should not. But, I also think there is a middle ground. If the President is going to withhold info, I think parameters should be put in place. Maybe we could put a time limit on how long he can hold the info (2-3 years at most).
ReplyDeleteTransparency is definitely something that the government should be seeking to have, especially if it is regarding a botched operation. Lawmakers have a right to know how it was performed, what happened, and why it failed. Withholding information just fosters distrust and allows the president to avoid being held accountability for something that resulted in the deaths of many people, including an American.
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