Posted on 10/06/2007 6:13:30 AM PDT by Libloather
Ruling Could Speed Release Of Records From Clinton Library
This article was published on Friday, October 5, 2007 10:06 PM CDT in News
By Andrew DeMillo
THE MORNING NEWS
LITTLE ROCK -- Former President Bill Clinton will have limited time to review thousands of documents archivists have cleared for release from his presidential library in Arkansas because of a recent court ruling, federal officials say.
About 26,000 pages of documents have been processed by archivists and forwarded to Clinton and the White House for their review, according to spokeswoman Susan Cooper of the National Archives, which manages the presidential library system.
The former president has not yet notified the White House of the results of his review, White House spokesman Blair Jones said Friday. Once that happens, the White House will begin its review.
"All pending requests for Clinton administration records are pending review by President Clinton's designated representative," Jones said. "The White House can take no action on any of the requests until the Clinton representative has completed its review ... and reached a decision on authorizing a release or withholding them."
A federal court ruling Monday could move the process along.
In Washington, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly invalidated part of a 2001 executive order by President Bush that allowed former presidents to review executive records before they are released under the Freedom of Information Act.
"It doesn't mean that different kinds of documents can be released. What it means is the archivist has discretion after 30 days to say to the representative of the former president, 'Your time is up and we'll be forwarding those records to the incumbent,"' Cooper said. "In theory, it could speed things up."
Bruce Lindsey, Clinton's legal representative for records and head of the former president's foundation, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.
Cooper said she did not know how much time Clinton has had to review the documents currently before him. Emily Robison, the library's acting director, said the presidential review of Clinton library records has averaged 237 days, according to court filings responding to a lawsuit seeking records on former first lady Hillary Clinton.
The library on its own has already released about 1 million pages of domestic policy memos and other documents, but has faced criticism for not yet releasing documents sought by Judicial Watch on the former first lady, now a Democratic presidential candidate.
The conservative public interest group filed the federal lawsuit, and Clinton library officials said in court filings this week that about 10,000 pages of daily schedules will most likely be sent to the former president for review in January.
Archivists are sorting through 80 million pages of documents and 20 million e-mail at the library from Bill Clinton's eight years as president, but few records have come out of the library in response to FOI requests since the library began accepting them in January 2006.
Robison said the Clinton library received more than 336 FOI requests its first year, more than triple the roughly 100 requests the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in Texas and the Reagan Presidential Library in California each received in their inaugural years.
The district judge's ruling was made in a lawsuit filed by the American Historical Association and other groups, which argued Executive Order 13,233 was an "impermissible exercise of the executive power."
By law, the National Archives has the final say over the release of presidential records and Kollar-Kotelly ruled Bush's order effectively eliminated that discretion by allowing former presidents to delay the release of records "presumably indefinitely."
In 2003, Clinton announced his intention to release most of the records of confidential advice he received as president. At the time, Lindsey said the documents wouldn't include Clinton's legal defense in the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky-Paula Jones investigations, but would focus on domestic policy advice.
Under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, former presidents can withhold the release of records for up to 12 years under certain criteria -- and sometimes even longer if the documents are a matter of national security. Reagan and George H.W. Bush have withheld most of their confidential advice documents under the 12-year exemption.
My eyes!!!!
I want to know what Sandy Burgular was stuffing in his pants.
Will we ever know?
FYI ping
It will drag on and on and, then maybe, the information will be released after HRH Antichrist is already in the oval office writing pardons.
I suggest buying stock in companies that make paper shredders!
Ruling Could Speed Release Of Records From Clinton Library...that sandy burgler has not stolen and destroyed!!!
THIS would be the graphic to have in front of the sound of her "laugh."
Doubt it...weren’t they destroyed once he got ‘em out of the national archives?
Bruce Lindsey? Ha!
Under his time-deadline I would expect him to call in the heavy reinforcements...Sandy Hamburglar...
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