Looming test for Obama

The Obama administration has not yet revealed whether it supports a Congressional bill that would limit its ability to stop a lawsuit through state secrets claims, NPR reported. Vice President Joe Bident co-sponsored a similar bill last year in the Senate.

President Obama came to the White House promising a new era of openness in government. On his first full day in office he said, "The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable, and the way to make government accountable is to make it transparent." Now, some activists say, he has not done enough to keep that promise on the national security front.

A major test of the Obama administration's openness on national security issues is coming on Thursday. The Justice Department faces a court-imposed deadline to say whether it will release some controversial classified memos from the Bush administration.

In an interview last week on CBS, Attorney General Eric Holder told Katie Couric, "This is a very transparent administration. This is going to be a very transparent Justice Department, but I'm not going to sacrifice the safety of the American people or our ability to protect the American homeland, and that is first and foremost."

More here.