Judge Orders Cheney to Preserve Records

[Crabtownboy]

WASHINGTON (Sept. 20) - A federal judge on Saturday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve a wide range of the records from his time as vice president.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under by the Presidential Records Act.

The Bush administration's legal position "heightens the court's concern" that some records may not be preserved, said the judge.
A private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is suing Cheney and the Executive Office of the President in an effort to ensure that no presidential records are destroyed or handled in a way that makes them unavailable to the public.
In a 22-page opinion, the judge revealed that in recent days, lawyers for the Bush administration balked at a proposed agreement between the two sides on how to proceed with the case.
Cheney and the other defendants in the case "were only willing to agree to a preservation order that tracked their narrowed interpretation" of the Presidential Records Act, wrote Kollar-Kotelly.
The administration, said the judge, wanted any court order on what records are at issue in the suit to cover only the office of the vice president, not Cheney or the other defendants in the lawsuit. The other defendants include the National Archives and the archivist of the United States.
In response to the ruling, Cheney spokesman James R. Hennigan said that "we will not have any comment on pending litigation."
The lawsuit stems from Cheney's position that his office is not part of the executive branch of government.

This summer, Cheney chief of staff David Addington told Congress the vice president belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, but rather is attached by the Constitution to Congress. The vice president presides over the Senate.
The lawsuit alleges that the Bush administration's actions over the past 7 1/2 years raise questions over whether the White House will turn over records created by Cheney and his staff to the National Archives in January.
In 2003, Cheney asserted that the office of the vice president is not an entity within the executive branch.
Two historians and three groups of historians and archivists joined CREW in filing the suit two weeks ago.

http://news.aol.com/article/judge-orders-cheney-to-preserve-records/165725

 

[Deacon]

I've got a few guidelines I follow when voting in local elections.

Two of these are:
1. Don't vote for candidates from Philadelphia. "Can anything good come from Philadelphia?"
2. Try not to vote for lawyers.

Can I offer a prediction?

Both Obama and Biden are lawyers (who would have guessed :laugh: ).

If the Obama/Biden team is elected we will see a major portion of their first year spent attempting to impune the Bush administration: casting blame rather than attempting to solve problems fits their mode.

Bush would do well to collect the names of anyone associated with him (all the way down to his mother) and offer a blanket immunity as he leaves office.
It won't stop the lawyering up of the situation but it would quell the anxiety of those prosecuted for political gain.

Rob

 

[LeBuick]

I think all government records should be considered public records. Sure some should be sealed for the sake of national security etc... But none should ever be destroyed or considered as property of the public servant.

He should get a Yahoo account for personal business.

 

[billwald]

Since Nixon it boggles the mind that any president or vp would keep any records of anything. More proof that anyone who applies for the job is either demented or thinks he has hit his glass ceiling.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Since Nixon it boggles the mind that any president or vp would keep any records of anything. More proof that anyone who applies for the job is either demented or thinks he has hit his glass ceiling.

I agree, anyone who expresses the wish to be president should be automatically disqualified for mental reasons. :laugh:

And to say the office of the VP is not part of the Executive branch is a creative way to try to hide papers .... but I think a futile one. All the records should be public. Are they not "public servants"?

 

[billwald]

Bottom line is there is no longer any such a thing as privacy except what happens in you bedroom - as long as you don't use you bedroom for emails or phone calls. The govt reads all our mail. We should be able to read theirs.

 

[LeBuick]

I agree, anyone who expresses the wish to be president should be automatically disqualified for mental reasons. :laugh:

And to say the office of the VP is not part of the Executive branch is a creative way to try to hide papers .... but I think a futile one. All the records should be public. Are they not "public servants"?

I don't know, I'd take the job. I'd have them put a couch and 63 in plasma in the oval office and tell my assistant I can't be disturbed. I'd put prayer back in school, pimp out the presidential limo and let the homeless sleep in the rotunda complete with meals prepared by the White House chef.

I would then close government two days a week to save money, lay on the couch, put on a good movie and wait to be impeached...

With the efficiency of our government I might make two terms...

 

[carpro]

All the records should be public. Are they not "public servants"?

Iagree.


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6821.html

Obama records requests prove fruitless

By: Mike Allen
Nov 11, 2007 09:22 PM EST


Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) dodged questions Sunday about releasing papers from his eight years as an Illinois state senator, and his campaign has not answered records requests from the state’s two largest newspapers.





http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-03-06-clinton-library-foia_N.htm

Clinton-papers release blocked
Updated 3/7/2008


Marc Rich
By Rich Schultz, AP


LITTLE ROCK — Federal archivists at the Clinton Presidential Library are blocking the release of hundreds of pages of White House papers on pardons that the former president approved, including clemency for fugitive commodities trader Marc Rich.

The archivists' decision, based on guidance provided by Bill Clinton that restricts the disclosure of advice he received from aides, prevents public scrutiny of documents that would shed light on how he decided which pardons to approve from among hundreds of requests.


http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/14/nation/na-clintondocs14

Clinton records locked up
By Peter Nicholas
August 14, 2007 in print edition A-10

little rock, ark. - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton cites her experience as a compelling reason voters should make her president, but nearly 2 million pages of documents covering her White House years are locked up in a building here, obscuring a large swath of her record as first lady.

 

[Pastor Larry]

All the records should be public. Are they not "public servants"?

Not necessarily. How can the president get good advice from people if they are worried about whether or not it will later be used against them. There are good reasons for some documents to be public and others not to be.

With respect to Cheney's particular situation, I don't know enough to comment. If this is about the energy task force, then no, I don't think they should be made public. I could be convinced otherwise I suppose. As for other records, I really dont' know. But I think there are good reasons to keep some things confidential.