Security act raises press’ hackles
By Sally Hodgklnson
Of Iff Cmarald
Is the new National Security Act a
sateguard against overzealous judges or
a crack in the dike that protects the First
Amendment?
It depends on who's talking
"Protection of the security of the Unit
ed States and all its citizens is the first
and most solemn duty of every
president," Pres Ronald Reagan said in
an April 2 introduction to his executive
order "This order will improve my ability
to meet this constitutional obligation."
"This seems to be the most consistant
attack on press freedoms by a
president,” counters Steven Dornfeld,
president of the Society for Professional
Journalists "It has always been an ad
ministration goal to restrict information
This is more restrictive than Nixon's
order; Reagan wants to turn back the
clock on press freedoms ”
Reagan's order, which replaced a
1978 order by Pres Jimmy Carter,
deletes a clause that requires govern
ment officials to identify the security
danger before classifying a document
The document can be held in security
limbo for a month before a classification
decision is made
The order specifies — as the previous
one did — that classification can't be
used to conceal violations of the law,
hide embarassmg documents or delay
release of information that doesn't
qualify for classification
Top Secret is used tor documents that
are "reasonably expected to pose
"grave danger" to national security if
released Secret is tor documents that
might pose "serious danger" to national
security, and Confidential is used for
documents that could pose damage" to
national security
Reagan's order also deletes a require
ment that classified documents be au
tomatically reviewed after six years It still
requires an agency to conduct a "de
classification review'' when asked
Ninety percent of declassification inquir
ies result in part or all of the document
being released, according to press in
formation accompanying the order
Although several Congressmen have
criticized the executive order, the
loudest outcry has come from the press,
which has classified the order as a
secrecy act" that will allow bureaucrats
to hide information not directly related to
national security
The executive order is "a real blow
against all kinds of press freedoms” that
have been granted since the Eisenhower
Administration, says Dornfeld
Before the Freedom of Information Act
was passed in 1966, government officials
could to refuse to release almost any
information "The motto was When in
doubt, don't give out,' ” Dornfeld said.
Classification is one of nine exemptions
within the FOIA
But even after the FOIA was passed,
government officials could hide almost
anything they wanted by classifying, says
Mark Abrams, a University journalism
professor
The FOIA s exemption for classified
material was so ambiguous that it “al
lowed people by buy a stamp that said
security' and go wild," says Abrams,
who teaches press law “If it was a bit
embarassing — bang! — it was stamped
(jraprtic oy Micnaei scnamucn
secret. '
Carter's 1978 National Security Act
clarified classification and tightened up
the guidelines, Abrams says. “It was
desperately needed."
Now, most reporters can get informa
tion released under the FOIA without
having to file an offical request, Dornfeld
says. A FOIA inquiry is used only if the
agency is failing to administer the law or
if the issue is in a gray area, he adds. “A
reporter shouldn’t have to file an FOIA
request ”
FOIA requests that challenged clas
sification are one of the main reasons the
order was revised, says a senior White
House official.
"Such litigation places some of our
most sensitive information in jeopardy,”
he says. "The problem we had was that
some plaintiffs were trying to get judges
to decide for themselves whether
something should or should not be clas
sified, rather than leaving this decision to
be made by the executive branch where
it properly belongs
"What we re really talking about is
improved protection for properly clas
sified information.”
Judges should decide if documents
are properly classified under executive
order guidelines, not determine the
validity of the order, the official says.
"The executive branch has much
more information about whether widget
production in Patagonia would or would
not damage the national security,” he
says.
"The burden still remains on the
government to prove that the documents
are properly classified under the execu
tive order. The burden of proof doesn't
change, it just becomes lighter,” he says.
Although there have been some court
challenges over classification under the
Carter order, the government has never
lost a case. “That's right, and we want to
keep it that way."
The official says the order doesn't
allow more documents to be classified; it
better protects those that are classified
“It's easier to justify the classification ”
Were there any instances under the
previous order in which information was
released that damaged national
security? "Sure, but we re not going to
talk about it."
Sensitive military, technological and
finanical information should be clas
sified, but too often simply embarassing
information is protected, says Abrams.
"Giving the government a black eye is
not harming the country.”
And under the new order, that balance
is out of whack, says Dornfeld, adding
that legislation to challenge the act is
being developed by Sen. David Duren
berger, R-Minn.
Is the media over-reacting? No, says
Dornfeld. Maybe, says Abrams.
"This is no little thing,” Dornfeld said.
"If we don't cry wolf, no one else would.
We're not just concerned for ourselves.
A free press is essential in a free society.
When we lose access to information, the
public loses too.”
"We scream wolf too often," Abrams
says. “The order's going to hurt us, but
it's not a crippling blow. It’s a big, black
and-blue mark.”
Abrams pauses, considering what he
just said. Then he shrugs. "But on the
other hand, how upset do you get over a
crack in a dike?"
o.
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