Brennan Center for Justice

Classification is one of the most important tools our government has to keep us safe. But what happens when too much information is classified, making it difficult to determine what secrets are truly important?

Please join the Brennan Center for Justice as it unveils its latest report, Reducing Overclassification Through Accountability, which finds that unnecessary classification has reached epidemic proportions, harming democratic decision making and national security alike. The Brennan Center's report analyzes the causes of overclassification and proposes a solution that would introduce accountability for classification decisions into the system.

The Center will host a lunch-time discussion with a number of classification insiders and experts, including:

• Scott Shane (moderator), New York Times national security reporter
• Hon. Christopher Shays, former Congressman from Connecticut, former chair of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations
• J. William Leonard, former director of the Information Security Oversight Office from 2002 to 2007
• Dr. Jennifer Sims, member of the Public Interest Declassification Board, the president's advisory committee on classification
• Elizabeth Goitein, co-author of Reducing Overclassification Through Accountability

October 5, 2011
12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
National Press Club
First Amendment Lounge
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045

RSVP to Kimberly Lubrano at kimberly.lubrano@nyu.edu or 646-292-8342.