[928] in peace2
Reagan Files' Release Delayed "Indefinitely"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Felix F AuYeung)
Mon Sep 3 23:59:38 2001
To: peace-list@mit.edu
Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 23:21:04 -0400
Message-ID: <20010904.000136.-243623.0.FelixAuYeung@juno.com>
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From: Felix F AuYeung <felixauyeung@juno.com>
"The delay 'has been necessary for this administration to review the many
constitutional and legal questions raised by potential release of
sensitive and confidential presidential records.'" --i'll bet there are
lots of constitutional and legal questions indeed... bushy better not be
tweaking with the files:
White House Again Delays Reagan Files' Release
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 1, 2001
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31. For the third time, the Bush administration has
delayed release of 68,000 pages of Ronald Reagan's White House records,
including vice-presidential papers of President Bush's father.
Under the Presidential Records Act, which calls for the release of such
papers 12 years after a president leaves office, Mr. Reagan's were to
have been released in January. But the White House delayed the release
initially till June 21, then till the last day in August.
Today the White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales, undertook a third
extension, this time with no deadline, so that the administration could
continue reviewing the records and consult representatives of former
Presidents Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.
The delay "has been necessary for this administration to review the many
constitutional and legal questions raised by potential release of
sensitive and confidential presidential records," Mr. Gonzales wrote in a
letter to the National Archives, where the papers are maintained.
He did not say why this examination was still incomplete, but the letter
suggested that the further review would require "a few additional weeks."
Mr. Reagan's records are the first set scheduled to be released under the
Presidential Records Act. The law was enacted in 1978, after the
Watergate scandal and former President Richard M. Nixon's efforts to hold
on to his papers and tape recordings.
The White House said at the time of earlier delays that because the
release would set a precedent for future administrations, extra time was
needed to make sure it was done right. The administration has denied
accusations by some historians that the delays are an effort by the
president to protect his current aides, many of whom worked for his
father and Mr. Reagan.
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