Presidential Privilege and the Freedom of Information Act

Kevin M. Baron is Assistant Professor in Politics at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. Kevin’s research focuses on Congress and the Presidency, paying particular attention to the politics of policymaking.

• Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Truman and the Shift to a Cold War Paradigm Mindset; 3. Eisenhower’s Executive Privilege and the Public Interest; 4. Kennedy and the Democratic Political Considerations of Compromise; 5. LBJ and the Politics of Passing FOIA; 6. Nixon and the Resurgence of Executive Privilege; 7. Ford and Veto Bargaining Over Amending FOIA; 8. Conclusion – The Future of FOIA and Executive Privilege; Bibliography.

Kevin Baron has developed a dynamic model, nested within a social learning perspective, to explain policy formation as a function of double feedback loops. He examines the legislative development of FOIA from 1946–76 revealing the effectiveness of a learned response behaviour to executive privilege in issue evolution.