On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, White House press secretary Jen Psaki pledged that the administration would “bring transparency and truth back to government.” While the administration took some initial steps toward fulfilling this pledge, it has simply failed to act on a number of transparency issues. Worse, the administration seems to be embracing the opaque and undemocratic policies of its predecessors on a few other fronts.
One year into Biden’s presidency, the drive to fulfill this promise of transparency seems to have dissipated. As Biden and his advisers look to the next year, they should prioritize policies that eliminate barriers to transparency and democratic accountability, and work to strengthen those norms for administrations to come.
First, we should give credit where credit is due. In February, the administration released the US intelligence report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi that the Trump administration had refused to disclose. In May ...
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Anna Diakun is a staff attorney at the Knight Institute.