Critics Say New Rule Limits Access to Records

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 — Scholars and researchers say people will have a harder time getting information from the government because of a new Bush administration guideline on releasing federal records.
The guideline, issued in October by Attorney General John Ashcroft, describes how the administration intends to carry out the Freedom of Information Act, which says federal agencies must make their records available to the public. Since President Gerald R. Ford, it has been customary for new administrations to outline their interpretation of the act soon after taking office.
Mr. Ashcroft said the Bush administration's standard would be to support withholding documents as long as there was a "sound legal basis" for doing so. The previous standard, issued in 1993 by Janet Reno, the attorney general under President Bill Clinton, was to support withholding documents only if "disclosure would be harmful."
The change in wording is a significant blow to government openness, some researchers say.