Jill Abramson, the fired executive editor for the New York Times, said in an interview with Greta Van Susteren of Fox News fame that the current administration is one of the most secretive in White House history.
“I’ve never dealt with an administration where more officials — some of whom are actually paid to be the spokesmen for various federal agencies — demand everything be off the record,” she said, on “On the Record” late Wednesday night.
She said the worst problem is that the White House has frozen out journalists who are supposed to be covering the executive branch.
The feds, for instance, have kicked off eight criminal whistleblower investigations since 2009 — double the number of all the previous administrations, taken together, Newsmax reported.
“These [investigations] have really put a freeze and have interrupted the normal flow of journalists who want to cover Washington, and national security especially,” Ms. Abramson told Fox News.
Her statements underscore critics who say President Obama has failed live up to campaign promises of promoting the most open and transparent administration ever.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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