The Associated Press reports (below) that a review by Congressional Republican staff revealed that "for years, the public calendars of Drs. Janet Woodcock and Steven Galson were largely blank--devoid of the required detail about their contacts with the industry they regulated."

Dr. Woodcock occupied two top positions between 1999 and 2006--as director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and then Deputy Commissioner. Dr. Galson replaced her as head of CDER.

Federal regulations require the FDA to maintain a public calendar that details all "significant meetings" between its top brass and anyone outside the executive branch. The FDA, in responding to a Congressional inquiry, attributed the failure to publicly disclose meetings attended by the officials to administrative oversight. "As soon as it was brought to my attention, we corrected it," Galson told The Associated Press.

Woodcock did not respond to telephone and electronic messages seeking comment. Agency spokesman Robert Ali reiterated that it was an oversight, but couldn't say why it affected only Galson and Woodcock and not other officials. Nor could he say why the problem with Woodcock's listings persisted even after she changed jobs.

FDA officials' arrogance and disregard for rules governing public officials is matched only by the Vice President--who claims to be above all laws and regulations. Where checks and balances are dysfunctional there is no democracy.