He thought he could hide his presidential paper trail behind a 2001 order but Congress reverses it

[bigtree]

House overturns Bush order on papers secrecy

Bill overturns ’01 order that allowed presidents to keep documents private

ET March 15, 2007

WASHINGTON -

The measure, which drew bipartisan support and passed by a veto-busting 333-93 margin, was among White House-opposed bills the House passed that would widen access to government information and protect government whistleblowers.

The presidential papers bill nullifies a November 2001 order, criticized by historians, in which Bush allowed the White House or a former president to block release of a former president’s papers and put the onus on researchers to show a “specific need” for many types of records.

Among beneficiaries of the Bush order was Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, a former vice president and president.

The order gave former vice presidents the right to stop the release of their papers through an executive privilege that previously only presidents could use. And it extended to deceased presidents’ designees rights to keep their papers secret indefinitely.

The House bill would give current and former presidents 40 business days to object to requests to view their papers, allow a sitting president to override a former president’s claim of executive privilege and strip former vice presidents and the designees of deceased presidents of the power to use executive privilege to block access to their historical documents.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17624648/

[Little Wing]

1. YES!!!

:bounce:

[soothsayer]

2. Sayyyyyy! Great news!!!! Take that, bfee!

[madokie]

3. I'm a thinking that in the end our Constitution will remain intact

maybe somewhat torn and tattered by the bush* cabal but intact.
heres to hoping I'm right :toast:

[KoKo]

4. Veto proof......A very good thing............eom

[Toots]

7. Remember the Presidential Papers Act was an "Act of Congress" and LAW

Bush* just did away with it. He wrote a new Law on his own. The Constitution is plain on who has Law making abilities and the President is not one of them. If he got away with writing Law in the first place why wouldn't he get away with it now. The "Unitary Executive" can follow or not follow any LAW he wishes..as has been demonstrated numerous times over the last six years. So don't get your hopes up too much.

[JHB]

13. Excellent point, Toots!

* controls the mechanisms by which the law is supposed to be carried out, and those which are supposed to be enforcing the law if it's not.

If they follow his orders and do nothing, what good is a new law that just supports the old law that he's been violating? The only thing to do is impeach him, and we all know how quickly THAT is proceeding...

[WinkyDink]

5. This is AWESOME news!!!! What Bush wanted was to hide his and his old man's crimes

(including when 41 was RR's VP) FOREVER.

[unpossibles]

6. K&R n/t

[Lasher]

8. Junior has been keeping Saint Gipper's papers locked up too

The bill has now gone to the Senate where a veto-proof majority is less likely. However, with the current anger at the Bush junta for lying to Congress and hiding the truth, I think there is hope we could just get there.

[bigtree]

9. .

[bunny planet]

10. Watch out for the signing statement on this one.

Jr. never pays attention to those pesky Congressional bills. He'll just get busy shredding.

[CRH]

11. Oh My! Lifting the rock where critters crawl, ... nt

[wicket]

12. In my best Eric Cartman sing-song voice:

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[ComerPerro]

14. good, lets start investigating Reagan and Bush I era crimes

[bigtree]

15. Bush presidency: accent on secrecy, panelists say

By Eugenia Harris
First Amendment Center Online
03.16.07

WASHINGTON — Though President Bush may have many legacies once he leaves office, “one that is bound to be history will anoint him as the secrecy president,” a law professor and open-government advocate said today.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, shifting from the Clinton administration’s policy of disclosure, advised agencies not to release information if it was unclear whether FOIA exemptions applied. In 2002, then-White House chief of staff Andrew Card directed agencies to protect information that could aid the development or use of weapons of mass destruction or that could pose a threat to national security.

This week, five open-government measures have been moving through Congress: H.R. 1309 and S. 849, both of which would strengthen FOIA, H.R. 1254, which would require groups that raise funds for presidential libraries to release information about their donors, H.R. 1255, which would overturn a 2001 Bush decision that made it easier for presidents to shield their records, and H.R. 985, which would strengthen protections for federal whistleblowers.

report: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=18302


Related:

Archivist: We're restoring records access
By Eugenia Harris Allen Weinstein discusses National Archives' reclassification project. 03.16.07
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=18297

James Madison Award goes to Paul McMasters
By Nikki Troia Long-time First Amendment advocate wins honor for championing public's right to know. 03.16.07
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=18294

Probe classified documents, reporter urges
By Nikki Troia Washington Post's Dana Priest tells FOI Day panel classifications are so overused as to be meaningless. 03.16.07
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=18299

McMasters decries current culture of secrecy
By Nikki Troia Accepting James Madison Award, McMasters blasts clampdown on government information by Bush administration. 03.16.07
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=18303