Clinton Library Prepares to Open Records (If bush lets him)

[cynatnite]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Researchers can start requesting any of the millions of presidential records at Bill Clinton's library Friday, the fifth anniversary of his departure from the White House.

The library has 80 million pages of documents that will be available to scholars through the Freedom of Information Act.

snip:
Complicating Friday's release is an executive order signed by President Bush that requires his consent and the former president's before any documents can be released to the public.

Because of privacy and national security concerns, some of the documents will not be available Friday. But under the Presidential Records Act, those papers will be reviewed again in 12 years and more released.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060120/ap_on_re_us/clinton_library

[mark11727]

1. Isn't Poppy's stuff still locked-up...?

...and will remain so indefinitely.

[MGKrebs]

2. Release requires Shrubs' consent?? WTF???

He can do that by executive order?

Those guys are so freaking paranoid.

[SoCalDem]

3. Bush will never "allow" it because then the repubes cannot

continually blame Clinton for Bush's failings..

It;s smart of Bill to try and release them early. The people pretty much know everything about him already..and he does have a real record of achievement to stand on.. The records would prove it:)

I hope he keeps telling people he wants to open the records.

[DrDebug]

4. George Bush can still block it...

One of the dirty Executive tricks by Dubya. Even if Clinton gives consent then the current President can still block access.

Washington Post, November 1, 2001
Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez

The Bush White House has drafted an executive order that would usher in a new era of secrecy for presidential records and allow an incumbent president to withhold a former president's papers even if the former president wanted to make them public.

The five page draft would also require members of the public seeking particular documents to show "at least a demonstrated, specific need" for them before they would be considered for release.

Historians and others who have seen the proposed order called it unprecedented and said it would turn the 1978 Presidential Records Act on its head by allowing such materials to be kept secret "in perpetuity."

Under the order, incumbent and former presidents "could keep their records locked up for as long as they want", said Bruce Craig, Executive Director of the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History. "It reverses the very premise of the Presidential Records Act, which provides for a systematic release of presidential records after 12 years.”….

"Absent compelling circumstances," the incumbent president will concur in the former president's privilege decision, the draft order states. But if the incumbent president does not agree on a former president's decision to grant access, "the incumbent president may independently order the archivist to withhold privileged records".

The order would work "like a one-way ratchet," said Scott Nelson, an attorney for the Public Citizen Litigation Group. "If the former president says the records are privileged, they will remain secret even if the sitting president disagrees. If the sitting president says they should be privileged, they remain secret even if the former president disagrees."

http://www.newsmakingnews.com/vm,deadly,1991,11,1,04,pt4.htm

[phoebe]

5. wonder if there will be another fire?

n.t

[MGKrebs]

6. Two things:

1. Bush can't read and has an attention span of about 4 seconds, so it would be surprising if he ever let's anything out, since he'll never understand it.
2. He damn sure knows he can't let any of his OWN papers out when the time comes. Doesn't take more than about 3 seconds to process that!

[Sydnie]

7. That law must go on our list of things to change as soon as we

get back into office.