That conflation is particularly slimy because works produced by the US government are explicitly, statutorily ineligible for copyright (17 USC 105). In other wo

That conflation is particularly slimy because works produced by the US government are explicitly, statutorily ineligible for copyright (17 USC 105). In other words, not only is there such a principle with regard to USG-produced works, it's been actively expressed in US law for decades.