Bush and Negroponte Scheme to Waive Disclosure for Private Companies [View All]

Bush gives intelligence chief authority to exempt companies from some disclosure requirements

May 24, 2006 3:21 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush has delegated to the government's intelligence chief, John Negroponte, the authority to exempt private companies from certain federal disclosure requirements on grounds of national security.

Bush signed an official memorandum to Negroponte on May 5 giving him the authority to excuse companies with government contracts for secret projects from having to disclose them in required periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The memo, published in the Federal Register on May 12, was first reported Tuesday by BusinessWeek Online.

Administration officials said it was the first time a president has ever delegated that authority to someone not in his executive office, according to BusinessWeek. It wasn't clear whether any U.S. company has received a waiver under the national-security provision.

''There was no expansion of the authority (to exempt companies), and nothing specific that led to the memo,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Wednesday in response to questions. She was referring to the idea that the legal basis for granting exemptions hadn't changed.

Carl Kropf, a spokesman for Negroponte, said, ''The ability to protect the confidentiality of some of these relationships (with companies) is important.'' He declined further comment.

report: http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=BUSINESS&ID=564740340872251552


BusinessWeek noted the timing of Bush's memo, which came the same day that Porter Goss resigned as CIA Director . . .