From Slate columnist Vanessa Golembewski:
At a premiere event earlier this week in Hollywood, Game of Thrones showrunner Dan Weiss revealed that President Obama is the only person outside of HBO who will see advance screenings of new episodes.
That means those who traditionally view them — mainly journalists, industry folk, and the occasional fan group — have no choice but to wait. Why did Obama get these highly coveted assets? “He’s the leader of the free world,” Weiss told the crowd.
“When the commander-in-chief says, ‘I want to see advanced episodes,’ what are you gonna do?”
So, Weiss gave them to him. And I decided this was a perfect opportunity to test the limits of the Freedom Of Information Act.
If the president — and by extension, our government — is in possession of a file, surely that file is subject to my request to see it as a U.S. citizen.