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Title: U.S. Judge Orders Release Of White House Visitor Logs
Source:
Free Internet Press
URL Source: http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=14654
Published: Dec 17, 2007
Author: Washington Post staff writer Michael Abr
Post Date: 2007-12-17 20:19:58 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 59
Comments: 3
A federal judge Monday rejected Bush administration claims that White House visitor logs created by the Secret Service are not public records and ordered information involving the visits of nine conservative religious figures to be released to an advocacy group. The dispute involved an effort by the administration to keep secret records that have traditionally allowed the news media or Congress to keep tabs on who has been visiting the White House or vice president's office. Administration lawyers have taken the position that the logs are presidential records outside of the scope of the Freedom of Information Act. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth rejected the Bush Administration's argument, saying the records qualify as "agency records" subject to disclosure, noting that the information in the visitor logs was created by the Secret Service and is under its control, not the White House. He also rejected the government's argument that the records should be kept secret to preserve the confidentiality of presidential and vice presidential deliberations. He noted testimony of an aide to Cheney herself that the purpose of the visits is not apparent from the documents. "Knowledge of these visitors would not disclose presidential communications or shine a light on the President's or Vice President's policy deliberations," Lamberth wrote in his opinion. Officials with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed the lawsuit to obtain the records, expressed satisfaction. "CREW is pleased that the judge saw through the White House's transparent attempts to hide public documents from the American people. We look forward to sharing the documents we obtain through this lawsuit," said CREW's executive director, Melanie Sloan. In an e-mail message, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, "We are reviewing the decisions by the U.S. District Court in the cases and will discuss our options with counsel. As these issues remain in litigation, we will not comment further at this time."
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
This regime really, really sucks.
I'm sure tomorrow morning at 7:30 the records will be released.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" I gave my full name, DOB and SSN to visit the White House on some sort of VIP tour about nine years ago. That's in the database. The records are there is what I'm saying.
#2. To: Brian S (#0)
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
A federal judge Monday rejected Bush administration claims that White House visitor logs created by the Secret Service are not public records and ordered information involving the visits of nine conservative religious figures to be released to an advocacy group.
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