Disclosure Of Information

The Senate on Monday opened long-sealed transcripts of closed-door hearings conducted by Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, removing a last layer of secrecy surrounding the tactics he employed during his infamous hunt for communists in the government 50 years ago. The newly released documents are replete with examples of the abrasive style McCarthy and his aides, especially chief counsel Roy M.

Even if I hadn't been stuck in downtown traffic Friday morning, I probably would have been glued to the radio. Political reporters pressed special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald to reveal more about his investigation of a White House leak that outed a covert CIA agent than was included in his short report. He resisted, saying that he did not enjoy keeping secrets but that he was constrained by law.

As tell-alls go, it's fairly tame stuff. A new inside look at India's equivalent of the CIA contains some modest allegations of corruption, mismanagement and petty behavior, but no bombshell revelations. Try telling that to the Indian government, which has accused the author of leaking classified information and raided the man's home, turning what otherwise would have been a minor annoyance into a headline-grabbing imbroglio.

In what lawyers suing the Roman Catholic Church over sexual abuse allegations claim is a major victory, a judge Friday ordered Northern California bishops to turn over personnel files on 40 priests accused of molesting children. Similar church files are being sought by prosecutors and lawyers for more than 500 people who say they were sexually abused by priests in the Los Angeles area. The documents could shed light on how the church responded to abuse allegations.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday proposed making information available on all clinical trials involving gene therapy and animal-to-human transplants, including data about deaths or serious side effects.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich is calling for the Department of Children and Family Services to review its adoption policies after the lawsuit recently filed against the county by the adoptive parents of convicted killer Jeremy Strohmeyer. The motion by Antonovich instructs the department's director to review procedures for disclosure of information about the background of birth parents. The board is expected to discuss the matter Oct. 26.

University of California attorneys Thursday asked for a court order to block public disclosure of information from depositions in lawsuits filed in connection with its fertility clinic scandal. University attorneys argued in court papers that the move was necessary to protect the privacy of patients, to reassure publicity-shy witnesses and to protect the integrity of future jury pools.

Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed Wednesday that he has the power to declassify sensitive government information, authority that could set up a criminal defense for his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Cheney's disclosure comes a week after reports that Libby testified under oath that he was authorized by superiors in 2003 to disclose highly sensitive prewar information to reporters.

The Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its idea of posting potential disaster casualty figures for chemical plants on the Internet, bowing to concerns that the information would aid terrorists. "The EPA and FBI recognize that chemical facilities may be a target for terrorism even without the sensitive data on the Internet," the EPA wrote in a letter to House Commerce Chairman Thomas J. Bliley (R-Va.). The Associated Press reported Oct.

Saying the public has the right to know how much the city spends on employee salaries, Councilman David Sullivan has won support from his colleagues to force the release of pay figures. A critic of employee salaries, Sullivan asked the City Council this week to agree to release a list of employees receiving more than $75,000. Instead, the council agreed that the compensation packages--salary and benefits--be released for all city employees, but without their names.