Group proposes accountability for overclassification

The Brennan Center for Justice released a report today on government overclassification, and proposed a pilot program for the federal government that calls for accountability when employees improperly classify documents.

The center released the report at a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. today that included high-ranking national security experts, including former House Rep. Christopher Shays, a Republican from Connecticut who served on a number of Congressional committees on government oversight and national security.

The 67-page report looks at the problems brought on by overclassification, such as how it affects the democratic process, and proposes a pilot program centered on accountability and consequences. It also calls for better training for federal employees regarding what information and documents should be considered classified and at what level.

"You don't have to play the blame game to solve the problem," said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director for the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program and panel member. "Most people are probably classifying too much just because that's what everyone else does."

Goitein, who co-authored the report, "Reducing Overclassification Through Accountability," said that overclassification happens for a number of reasons: classifiers are busy; classifiers are afraid of getting in trouble; classified documents get more attention than those that are unclassified; and classifiers are hiding evidence of misconduct.

Goitein said the key to achieving balance in the classification process is to provide incentive to declassify. The report proposes a three-step process to bring the process into balance, including forcing classifiers to explain their decisions (even with just two or three sentences); spot audits of randomly selected classifiers; and graduated consequences for classifiers found not complying with guidelines.

"You're going to have to come up with some pretty powerful incentives on the other side in order to create that balance," said Goitein who spoke on behalf of her co-author, David Shapiro.

Panel members each acknowledged the need for national security secrets to be confidentially maintained, but all agreed that overclassification remains a continuing problem.

Panelist Jennifer Sims, a presidential appointee to the Public Interest Declassification Board, said declassifying documents is about more than helping journalists. "It's absolutely fundamental to our democracy to get this right," she said. "We're saddled with a classification system that is more in line with the Cold War."

Sims noted that declassifying documents is not only about a productive public debate, but also improving national security. Shays, who served as a senior member for a number of committees including the House Oversight and Government Reform and Homeland Security committees, said agencies' inability to share information was a major factor in facilitating the 9/11 attacks.

"If we hadn't overclassified information, I honestly believe 9/11 wouldn't have happened," Shay said.

Emily Hickey, a federal employee in the audience, said she believes Goitein is right about the need for accountability, but disagreed with the her position that oversight should be carried out by the Office of the Inspector General. "I think it should be done by a neutral body," she said, also acknowledging that human resources and funding would be an issue.

Goitein said the Office of the Inspector General was best suited for the job because it was "used to being hated," and could thus maintain some form of independence and objectivity.