"The documents in question - all more than 25 years old - were scheduled to be declassified on Dec. 31 under an order originally signed by President Bill Clinton and amended by President George W. Bush," wrote reporter Bryan Bender. Both presidents Clinton and Bush also granted the agencies extensions, in 2000 and 2003.
However, Bender added, "because [the Obama] administration has been unable to prod spy agencies into conformance," no such release is scheduled any time soon and it may be years before they are disclosed.
This, in spite of the president's repeated assurances of increased transparency. The decision to extend declassification deadlines for the agencies "would run counter to the Obama administration's push for more openness in the federal government, including the declassification process," noted ProPublica. "In May, the Globe points out, Obama 'ordered a 90-day review by the National Security Council" of the classification process."
