Sometimes, sweeping unpleasantness under the rug does work. Ask federal officials who have found that when they are compelled to obey the law on releasing government documents, they sometimes can delay providing them long enough that issues once important no longer are viewed as such.

Records sought by The Associated Press are an example. The AP sought documents regarding a U.S. attempt to influence public opinion in Cuba. One U.S. Agency for International Development official’s reaction was that “FOIA (processing the AP’s Freedom of Information Act request) will take six months … six months from now when FOIA comes out, this will all be over.”

Actually, he was not being optimistic – from his view, at least – enough: It took the AP two years to obtain the documents.

President Barack Obama’s administration has set new records for delaying release of documents, as well as for alleged failure to find them at all.

White House officials insist the administration has “bias toward openness and transparency.”

Sadly, that most assuredly is not the case.