Obama Ordered to Release Names of Clemency Seekers

The Obama administration urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rule otherwise. The government said publicizing the applicants’ names would violate their privacy.

Thursday’s ruling (.pdf) upholds a lower court decision in a case brought by former Washington Post reporter George Lardner Jr., who is writing a book on clemency, and sought the information under the Freedom of Information Act. A three-judge panel agreed with a lower court that ruled disclosure “shines a light” on “who is and who is not granted clemency by the president” (.pdf).