Dean Says Judge Should Decide What Records to Release

AP ^ | 12/7/03 | Anne Wallace Allen

[Jean S]

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean said Sunday he will let a judge determine which of his sealed records from Dean's years as Vermont's governor should be made public.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Dean said he has decided to use a lawsuit by the government watchdog group Judicial Watch, suing to open the records, as a mechanism to determine which records should be released and which should be kept sealed.

"What we think the best thing to do is to let the judge go through every single document and decide for himself what ought to be revealed and what not to be revealed," Dean said.

At issue are 145 boxes of documents that Dean gave to the state archives when he left office in January with the provision that they not be opened for six years. Dean, who served 11 years as governor, gave the state 190 boxes without restrictions on use.

Dean has come under increasing pressure from other Democratic presidential hopefuls and Republican officials to open the sealed documents. Washington-based Judicial Watch filed suit last week.

The fairest system is to have a judge review the documents, Dean said Sunday.

"Clearly our campaign can't review the documents, because nobody would believe that we weren't doing something political," he said. "So let an independent third party - and I think the Judicial Watch suit gives us the opportunity to let a judge go through every single document."

The practice by Vermont's governors of sealing records when they leave office is not unusual, but the length of time Dean chose is longer than his two predecessors, who imposed time locks of six and 7 1/2 years.

The sealed records under discussion contain correspondence that should remain private, Dean said.

"There are some things in there that are really not fair to reveal," Dean said. "Privacy concerns, people writing letters in to me that are private. I mean, everybody admits that if somebody writes a letter to me saying, you know, 'Dear Governor, my wife has AIDS' or something like that, that should not be revealed."

AP-ES-12-07-03 1251EST

[Common Tator]

It appears that Dean has looked the success rate of Judicial Watch.

With Larry Klayman on the job these boxes will likely stay secret until at least 2112.

Dean also knows that by the time the judge has read all the material, the election will be over.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Dean Says Judge Should Decide What Records to Release

Judge: This dope thinks I am going to sift through 142 boxes? Release all of them.
Next Case!

I can dream can't I?

[TalBlack]

I cannot believe that a guy who expects to be elected POTUS wants it to happen as he hides his records as governer.

Of course today in the Clinton party it is pretty much SOP.

[AngrySpud]

You're dead right. And what judge is going to accept such an assignment, knowing that all his/her work would be moot, coming months, if not years after the election is over?

[Erik Latranyi]

Judge: This dope thinks I am going to sift through 142 boxes? Release all of them. Next Case!

Unless Dean knows who the Judge will be......

[Pukin Dog]

Huge mistake by Dean. It will only play into more comparisons by his opposition. They will accuse him of hiding behind a Judge. He is playing right into Hillary's hands. He is going to be forced to open the records eventually, so he should do it now and get it behind him. There will be a media push by those who wanted Kerry to embarrass Dean.

[proxy_user]

Great headline! With the right judge, we could get rid of Bruce Springsteen...

[PeteFromMontana]

""What we think the best thing to do is to let the judge go through every single document and decide for himself what ought to be revealed and what not to be revealed," Dean said."


____________________________________

He must know this judge awfully well

[WL-law]

Clearly Dean doesn't have to wait for the mechanisms of a lawsuit, with all the procedural delays, scheduling problems, docket delay issues, etc, if he really WANTS to release information.

For example, Dean could easily set up a commission of independent 3rd parties to review the documents for legitimate privacy issues -- that would get the docs out now rather than later. Then Judicial Watch can sue over the 'withheld' docs if they are still so inclined. Hell, you could let Larry Klayman be PART of the review commission for that matter, to keep him satisfied.

Methinks Dean is NOT interested in disclosure.

[inkling]

[gatorbait]

He is going to be forced to open the records eventually, so he should do it now and get it behind him. There will be a media push by those who wanted Kerry to embarrass Dean.

I agree and am surprised it has not yet happened. Hillary! won't say a lot because of her record hiding , but her minions and proxies will .They also are assured not a chance tha tthe media will will draw any comparisons, either.

[gitmo]

The guy can't make a call on this itty bitty issue, and he wants to be POTUS? His nickname will be Indecision Dean.

[cubreporter]

Didn't he just flat out say if Pres Bush opened his records to the public Dean would too?

Didn't he just flat out say Pres Bush's records were buried in his father's Pres library?

Didn't he find out that was wrong and was a flat out lie?

Now he thinks a judge should decide what should and should not be released? This man has SOMETHING TO HIDE FOLKS...

What a freakin' idiot. First Kerry, now dean. Yipes. Oh well, we've had our Comedy Central from the dem/lib party haven't we?

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Translation: Dean says that the only way to get him to release his records is to take him to court.

[Thebaddog]

I thought that Dean was a total light weight in the FNS interview. And Hillary wasn't all that much better on MTP. Anybody have an opinion on how Chris Wallace was out of the starting gate? He seemed even handed in his treatment of the first two interviews that I saw.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Dean Says Judge Should Decide What Records to Release

I can understand secrecy for national security, but what state secret could a governor have that needs to be kept from us?

[Arpege92]

I heard that Dean would open these records just as soon as Bush opened his. Well, Bush opened his and now Dean's going back on his word.