Section 4

A. General Transparency Requirement

All government institutions and all elected or appointed officials shall operate with transparency.

All laws, decisions, public expenditures, and official actions shall be open to public review within seven (7) days, except as expressly limited by this Charter.

B. Limited Privilege for Confidential Advice

Certain high-level officials may receive confidential advice from their core staff. This privilege applies only:

• To advice given in direct support of their constitutional duties; and

• To staff whose roles are publicly defined by law or by this Charter.

• Congress may, by law, identify a narrow and specific list of officials eligible for this privilege, but only within the bounds of this Section and the purpose it serves.

C. Sunset Review and Declassification

Five (5) years after an official leaves their final term in office, the sitting President or a designated deputy shall review their privileged records. The reviewed records must be released to the public within a reasonable time, and no later than July 1 of that year.

The President may reclassify specific records only if they are:

• Vital to national security, or

• Related to ongoing foreign intelligence or to foreign intelligence assets still in harm’s way, or

• Part of ongoing military operations, or

• Tied to active diplomatic negotiations.

D. Diplomatic Negotiations

The President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Ambassadors, and Consuls, or their lawfully designated deputies, may withhold records of ongoing diplomatic negotiations. These records must be preserved and made public upon the conclusion or official abandonment of the negotiations, except for portions:

• Lawfully classified to protect intelligence sources and methods; or

• Connected to active military operations.

If Senate consent is required for a treaty or agreement, the relevant records must be made available to the Senate prior to any ratification vote, but must be published once the treaty is ratified, unless classified according to the other provisions in this Section.

These disclosure requirements apply regardless of whether an agreement is ultimately reached.

E. Judicial Review of National Security Classification

The President of the United States may classify records involving:

1. Active military operations; or

2. Intelligence sources and methods, for national security reasons.

When the “privileged" period expires, the current President may elect to retain classification. In those cases, the Supreme Court shall review such classified records to determine whether the classification complies with the requirements of this Charter.

The Court must release its ruling within ninety (90) days of receiving both:

• The classified record; and

• The executive’s written justification for withholding it.