Judge Rejects Bush Secrecy Claim, Says White House Visitor Logs Are Public Documents

[babylonsister]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2007/12/judge_white_house_logs_are_pub.php

Judge: White House logs are public

Judge Rejects Bush Secrecy Claim, Says White House Visitor Logs Are Public Documents

MATT APUZZO
AP News

Dec 17, 2007 13:09 EST

White House visitor logs are public documents, a federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting a legal strategy that the Bush administration had hoped would get around public records laws.

The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration, which is fighting the release of records showing visits by lobbyist Jack Abramoff and prominent religious conservatives.

The records are created by the Secret Service, which is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the Bush administration has ordered the data turned over to the White House, where they are treated as presidential records outside the scope of the public records law.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth said logs from the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence are subject to public records request.

[madrchsod]

1. no wonder the sheaders are working over time....

there will not be anything left to put in his library...

[spanone]

2. Nominated!!!!

[tabasco]

3. I'm sure they shredded the dozens of sheets with Jeffie Gannon's name.

The security people said he was there a lot though!

[blogslut]

4. cool

:)

[NV Whino]

5. Good for the judge

However, you're going to have to pry them out of their cold dead hands.

[L. Coyote]

6. Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove, Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove, Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove, Jack Abramoff

[tridim]

9. and Jimmy-Jeff Gannon-Guckert. nt

[gratuitous]

7. Glad Judge Lamberth followed the plain letter of the law

But I sure hope he included in his order an explicit instruction to the administration not to destroy any visitor records. Otherwise, the next time they're all in court, the administration lawyers will innocently ask, "What visitor records, your honor? Oh, those are routinely shredded (every time it appears that they might be made public)."

Although, for some reason, all the pages that might feature Jeff Gannon's name or one of his aliases is stuck together.

All together now: Ewwwwww.

[babylonsister]

8. You...

:spray: My water's coming out my nose, I tell ya! :rofl:

And...EWWWW!

[Richard Steele]

10. Great decision. Now, how do we force them to obey it? nm

[Javaman]

18. Heavens forbid!!! this is just round one of the kabuki nationals. nt

[Selatius]

20. We can't force them to comply. They won't hand them over willingly.

You would need to send federal marshals in to seize them because they won't comply, and I doubt they would go that far.

[liberalla]

23. Well, they could issue subpoenas!

Oh wait... that doesn't work either...

[Franc_Lee]

11. This was Cheney's idea, they won't testify, won't produce records and they're skating with no probs.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

12. Is that the whirr of the shredding machine cranking up that I hear?

[Canuckistanian]

13. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your FOIA requests.....

But don't expect them to be returned before Jan. 2008.

[Gelliebeans]

14. Good for the judge

:woohoo:

[Disturbed]

15. This will be appealed & drag on after Busholini is forced out

of the WH. It will end up at the SC in Feb. '09.

[Gelliebeans]

16. Ye I know

but at least he stood up for what is right. We have lived in a world that is so bizarre in reference to our legal system that we have come to believe up is down and black is white. I still hold out hope though. :hi:

[ladjf]

17. Bush will appeal to S.C. They will rule in his favor. Checkmate!

[Kablooie]

19. Yep. They will continue to appeal.

And if it gets to the point where they have to turn them over...

...surprise!... someone 'accidentally' destroyed them.

And who? This person? No. That person? No. No one will ever know.

And once again the criminal syndicate wins one again!

and again!

and again!

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. We'll never see those logs. The only court rulings they obey are those that favor THEM.

These documents will never be released.

[L. Coyote]

22. vis