Whistle Where You Work #18: Obama's Transparency; Marine Troop Safety

The Obama administration promised a new era in government transparency. After the first six months, have they lived up to their promises? How does it compare to the Bush administration, but more importantly, what should the public have expected? We look at previous administrations, the recent FOIA directive, TARP and bailout transparency, the use of the state secrets privilege, and other indications from the past 180 days that show how the Obama administration is treating this issue. This panel is with Patrice McDermott, Director of Open the Government.org, and Meredith Fuchs, General Counsel for the National Security Archive.

Then, we chat with Franz Gayl, a veteran of the Marine Corps who, as a civilian official at the Pentagon, chose to expose the bureaucratic holdup of putting MRAP vehicles which offer significantly greater protection to American troops than Humvees in the field. Gayl was retaliated against for his actions.

This episode was filmed in early August 2009.