:: Deepquest ::

The Bush administration is refusing to agree to a request to hand over information recording activities of foreign lobbyists to a journalist. A somewhat red-faced Department of Justice wrote back to say that copying the database would crash the system.

In a letter to the Centre for Public Integrity, which made the request, Thomas McIntyre of the Justice Department which handles such requests wrote that because the department had ‘experienced substantial problems with the current system, implementing such a request risks a crash that cannot be fixed and could result in a major loss of data, which would be devastating.’

The information is held under the 1938 U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act which details meetings between lobbyists and administration and senate officials and any payments that might have been made. Whilst the reasons given for not handing over the information may be unique, it will raise the suspicion that the Bush administration has something to hide in an election year. The issue will be seen as particularly sensitive following the US release of the Michael Moore film Farenheit/911 which alleges close links between the Bush family and Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, on this occasion the reason might well be cock up rather than conspiracy. The Justice Department which holds the information is considered to have antiquated systems. The FBI alone is said to be spending some $600 million in upgrades this year. The department says that it will meet requests for individual files, providing you know what you want, and will do you a copy – at 50c a page.

The Justice Department says it will be able to meet the request, but not until December this year.

After the presidential election.

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