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Judge: Bush Out of Line on Presidential Records ReleaseA federal judge October 1 invalidated part of President Bush’s Executive Order 13233, which gives former presidents, their heirs, and former vice presidents the right to review executive records indefinitely before they are made public under the Freedom of Information Act. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the provision was in violation of the 1978 Presidential Records Act because it eliminated the discretion that the law gave to the Archivist of the United States, who is legally empowered to release documents to the public, the Washington Post reported October 2. The decision resulted from a lawsuit filed in November 2001 by the public-interest group Public Citizen on behalf of the American Historical Association, the National Security Archive, and others immediately after the executive order was issued. The suit argued that the order was an “impermissible exercise of the executive power.” In finding that the plaintiffs had standing to pursue the suit, the court cited delays experienced by the NSA for requests pending at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for the past six-and-a-half years. The Associated Press noted October 1 that the order, drafted by then–White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales, was issued to block the release of 68,000 pages of records containing communications between President Reagan and his advisers, including then–Vice President George H. W. Bush. The ruling came as Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) stalled consideration in the Senate of the Presidential Records Act Amendments bill (S. 886); the House version (H.R. 1255) passed in March by a veto-proof margin and calls for rescinding the entire executive order. The judge’s decision leaves open the possibility of future lawsuits if presidential papers are withheld under remaining provisions. Meredith Fuchs, general counsel for the NSA, told the Post, “Unless the executive order is reversed or withdrawn, decisions about the release of records from this administration may ultimately be made by the Bush daughters.” In 2002, the American Library Association passed a resolution urging Congress to “amend the Presidential Records Act as necessary to reaffirm the intent of Congress that Presidential records be made generally available to the public with limited statutory restrictions by the end of 12 years.” ALA President Loriene Roy said the “court has made it clear just how vital that information is to democracy.” Posted on October 5, 2007. |
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