BRUCE LINDSEY STATEMENT ON CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS
Statement Regarding Clinton Presidential Records
Bruce Lindsey
William J. Clinton Records Representative
November 2, 2007
In the last few days, there have been several inaccurate reports regarding
Clinton Presidential records, including reports that have misconstrued a
2002 letter President Clinton sent to the National Archives easing the
restrictions on his presidential records.
I want to ensure that the record is clear that:
* By law, the Clinton presidential records are under the control of the
National Archives and Records Administration and are subject to the same
rules and regulations as the papers of every president elected since 1978.
* Bill Clinton has not blocked the release of a single document from his
Library.
* Bill Clinton has actively encouraged the National Archives to release more
policy and substantive presidential records sooner than any other president
subject to the Presidential Records Act.
* Contrary to recent reports, Bill Clinton has not asked that records
related to communications with Senator Clinton be withheld.
* In his 2002 letter to the Archives, Bill Clinton authorized NARA to
release substantive policy materials that involve confidential advice from
his advisors, including Senator Clinton. No other President subject to the
Presidential Records Act has authorized such a broad release. He has
designated a subset of these materials (including, among others, negative or
derogatory information about individuals involved in the appointment
process, confidential foreign policy communications, and communications
between the President and Vice President, First Lady, or former presidents
or vice presidents) that should be reviewed prior to release. Documents in
these categories have been released and are readily available in the Library
at this moment.
* There are over 100 million pages of materials at the Library - and the
Archives is required by law to review each page before it is released.
* The Archives is in the process of making records available as quickly as
they can — over 1 million pages of the Clinton Administration records have
already been released, including Health Care Task Force records.
* Now that Clinton presidential records are subject to FOIA requests, which
NARA must by law address, it has devoted significant resources to that task.
There are approximately 300 FOIA requests, involving 10.5 million pages,
pending at the Clinton Library and the Archives recently estimated that it
would take the Archives approximately 5-6 months to process 10,000 pages
responsive to one FOIA request.
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Background On Clinton Presidential Records
Bruce Lindsey
William J. Clinton Records Representative
November 2, 2007
Background
* The Presidential Records Act (PRA) is a post-Watergate statute that
applies to the records of presidents elected since 1978.
* The PRA defines which records are presidential records and provides that
they are the property of the federal government to be administered by the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
* NARA assumes custody and responsibility for control, preservation, and
access to the records when the President leaves office.
* Under the PRA, presidents:
* name a personal representative(s) to exercise authority over his/her
records in the event of his/her death or disability, and
* while in office, specify time periods up to 12 years to apply to 6
categories of information that may be restricted under the PRA, including
national defense/foreign policy records, appointment records, records of
confidential advice between the President and his advisers, etc.
* The Archivist determines if access to a presidential record is restricted
under the PRA (or FOIA), with a notification and review process during which
the former and sitting president may raise any constitutional privileges.
August 19, 1994 Letter from President Clinton to the Archives
In 1994, as provided in the PRA, President Clinton sent a letter to the
Archives naming me and Hillary Clinton as his personal representatives in
the case of his death or disability. Like Presidents Reagan and Bush before
him, he authorized the Archives to limit access to the 6 categories of
records for the permissible 12 years.
November 1, 2001 Bush Executive Order
The Bush Executive Order provided former presidents with the independent
right to assert any appropriate constitutional privileges over their
records. It also extended - from 30 to 90 days - the time period former
presidents have to review records that NARA proposes for release (however,
this part of the Executive Order was struck down by a D.C. federal court on
September 30, 2007).
On behalf of Bill Clinton, I publicly objected to the new Executive Order
because Bill Clinton believes that these additional protections are
unnecessary and inconsistent with the spirit of PRA.
November 6, 2002 Letter from Bill Clinton to the Archives
In 2002, Bill Clinton sent an “easing” letter authorizing NARA to review and
open policy-related documents containing confidential advice between himself
and his advisers, including Senator Clinton. As Bill Clinton said in that
letter: “My intent is to make available to the public as full a record as
possible documenting the decision-making, policy-making, and appointment
process of my Presidency by applying both the appointment and confidential
advice restrictions as narrowly as possible.” No other president subject to
the Presidential Records Act has authorized such a broad release. (While
former Presidents Reagan and Bush also have sent “easing” letters with
respect to “routine” correspondence and “informational and factual”
materials, these letters leave greater restrictions in place.) Bill
Clinton’s letter designates a subset of materials for review prior to
release. Documents in the various listed categories in this letter are
readily available in the Library at this moment, including those reflecting
advice between President Clinton and his advisers.
January 20, 2006 - Clinton Records Subject to FOIA
* Presidential records are not subject to FOIA for the first 5 years after a
president leaves office.
* Bill Clinton specifically encouraged NARA to review and make public as
many policy-related records as possible during those first five years (as
opposed to simply releasing press releases and public speeches, which
because of their ease of review, historically have been released first by
the Archives).
* Under FOIA, the Archives must review all records covered by requests from
the public and restrict access to any information contained in those records
that is prohibited from release by FOIA (there are 9 such categories) or
that are not subject to FOIA under the PRA.
* Currently, none of the FOIA requests NARA has processed and provided for
my review involve Senator Clinton.
