The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday unanimously approved a bill to restore access to Presidential records after the term of the President has ended.
A rule set by Reagan that allowed many records to be released 12-years after the end of a President’s term was effectively eliminated by Bush in 2001. Not surprisingly, the worst President in our history has a lot he wants to hide — and so does his Ringwraith. As the National Coalition for History reports:
In an unprecedented step, the [2001] Bush executive order authorized former vice presidents to assert executive privilege claims over vice presidential records. The bill restores the long-standing understanding that the right to assert executive privilege over presidential records is a right held only by presidents.
H.R. 1255, the “Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007,” is expected to go to the House floor next week. Click here to send an electronic letter to Congress using the National Coalition for History’s legislative grassroots site.
This is excellent news, not least the part about reopening the VP’s records. The Bush admin has dissemble and disassembled to a frightening degree.
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The Bush admin has been good for one thing though – irony. Many fine examples. For instance, I’ve found it head-shakiningly ironic that one of the attacks on opponents of the PATRIOT Act was “you shouldn’t mind them looking if you have nothing to hide.” Then Bushco goes and hides everything. And they do have lots to hide.