Hillary Clinton's White House papers would be tied up even if she released them.

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111201558.html

Records Under Wraps
Hillary Clinton's White House papers would be tied up even if she released them.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007; Page A18

DURING LAST month's Democratic Party debate in Philadelphia, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's opponents demanded that she release papers from the National Archives to allow the American people to judge whether her experience as first lady qualifies her to be president. Such campaign theatrics played into the well-worn narrative that the Clintons are secretive and slippery. But even if former President and Mrs. Clinton did what her opponents asked, the records would not be available in time for next year's election. It's a problem of lengthy review periods stretching into years that a bill from Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) would alleviate -- if only Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) would get out of the way.

Presidential records are off-limits for five years after a president leaves office. In addition, the Presidential Records Act of 1978 allows a former president to withhold six types of records for a further seven years, including confidential advice between the president and his advisers. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush each instructed the National Archives to withhold such documents for 12 years -- as did Mr. Clinton in 1994.

But even if Mr. Clinton today asked the National Archives to release confidential communications between him and the former first lady, disclosure could still be years away. That's because the six archivists at the Clinton library would have to sift through -- by hand -- more than 138 million pages in 36,000 boxes. And that's after they respond on a first-come-first-served basis to 287 pending Freedom of Information Act requests. Once the Archives scrubbed the records of information that cannot be released by law, the records would go to Bruce R. Lindsey, handler of Mr. Clinton's presidential records, who already is reviewing 26,000 pages. Then they would go to President Bush. A 2001 Bush executive order puts no time limit on the incumbent president's review.

Enter Mr. Lieberman, whose legislation would limit the review by the former and incumbent presidents to no more than 90 days. More important, it would roll back the unprecedented step of extending to their relatives and to the vice president the right to invoke executive privilege. That provision could put some presidential papers permanently out of public reach. The Lieberman bill, combined with more money for the Archives to help it keep up with the explosion of electronic documents, would modestly speed access to historical documents.

But the Lieberman bill can't get anywhere because Mr. Bunning has put a hold on it. He has said, "The president ought to have the right to withhold any records he chooses." Wrong. Those documents belong to the people of the United States. The sooner Mr. Bunning gets out of the way, the sooner the American people can see them.

[Bitwit1234]

1. Isn't it odd??

that all the obamasuckups on this journal were ranting and raving about Hillary Clinton not releasing her papers, when there had been so many articles, such as this one, telling why the papers hadn't been released.

The thing is, they just bash and flame Hillary for absolutely no reason what so ever. They are like the republicans they think their mis-representations will be taken as fact.

And I never heard one denial from any of them about Obama holding up all his state senatorial papers. Someone posted a large article here about that. Not like the NARA with only 7 clerks to go thru thousands and thousands of requests and ten of thousands of pages.

Any with the obamasuckups calling Hillary supporters names like Hillarybots they have no damn right to say anything about being called obamasuckups.

[babylonsister]

4. This thread has nothing to do with Obama.

It actually presents a reason why other candidates should lay off Clinton regarding unreleased papers.
Your ignorance is showing - again. :boring:

[blm]

6. Who cares about Hill's papers - why did Bill keep needed BCCI documents protected

for Poppy Bush?

And why did Bill insult the many Democrats following BCCI by not even mentioning it once in his book? The funding of global terror networks and the illegal maneuverings of Poppy Bush, Jackson Stephens and Marc Rich weren't interesting enough matters to include?

[Cameron27]

2. Thanks

That's what Bill said and while I won't expect a statement about it from Russert or Matthews, it would be nice to hear something from Senator Obama.

[meegbear]

3. Bush Clamping Down On Presidential Papers

Thursday, November 1, 2001; Page A33

The Bush White House has drafted an executive order that would usher in a new era of secrecy for presidential records and allow an incumbent president to withhold a former president's papers even if the former president wanted to make them public.

The five-page draft would also require members of the public seeking particular documents to show "at least a 'demonstrated, specific need' " for them before they would be considered for release.

Historians and others who have seen the proposed order called it unprecedented and said it would turn the 1978 Presidential Records Act on its head by allowing such materials to be kept secret "in perpetuity."

Under the order, incumbent and former presidents "could keep their records locked up for as long as they want," said Bruce Craig, executive director of the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History. "It reverses the very premise of the Presidential Records Act, which provides for a systematic release of presidential records after 12 years."

<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20731-2001Oct31

---------------------

Nowhere in that story is this even mentioned.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Russert was completely off base in his 'debate' question. nt

[Skip Intro]

7. yep. think he knew it?

[Captain Hilts]

8. Think he cares? nt

[Skip Intro]

9. not one bit - he got the insinuation off the ground, that's all he cared about