WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2009
Judge Rules Against Bush On Visitor Logs
Rejects Admin.'s Attempt To Keep White House Visitors Secret, Declares Secret Service Records Illegally Deleted
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(CBS/AP)
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Interactive Wheeling & Dealing Learn more about the scandals involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth concluded that the deletions took place before October 2004 when the Secret Service transferred large numbers of entry and exit logs to the White House and then deleted copies of them.
The deletions ceased after the archivist to the United States instructed the Secret Service to stop the practice and after various private organizations went to court in an effort to gain access to the logs, according to papers filed in the case. The deletions go back at least as far as 2001, the government's papers added, the year President George W. Bush took office.
Lamberth's ruling brushed aside the government's argument that revealing Secret Service logs would impede the president's ability to perform his constitutional duties.
The court said that the likelihood of harm is not great enough to justify curtailing the public disclosure goals of the Freedom of Information Act.
While the case was a setback for the Bush White House, the effect of the claim of a presidential communications privilege succeeded in dragging out the lawsuit until the end of the Bush administration.
A watchdog group,
On Friday, CREW's chief counsel, Anne Weismann, said the group hopes the incoming Obama administration takes heed of the court's decision and ensures that Secret Service records are available to the public.
The administration's request to extend the presidential communications privilege to Secret Service logs is inconsistent with other decisions by the federal courts in Washington, D.C., Lamberth said.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the White House is reviewing the judge's opinion and is considering all legal options.
Secret Service logs have been used in investigations by Congress and federal prosecutors. For example, the logs have revealed the comings and goings of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and Clinton campaign donor Denise Rich, the wife of fugitive financier Marc Rich, who was pardoned in the closing hours of the Clinton administration.
In the spring of 2006, in the midst of an influence-peddling scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the White House and the Secret Service quietly signed an agreement declaring the Secret Service logs identifying visitors to the White House are not open to the public.
Four months later, Cheney's office told the Secret Service in a letter that visitor records for the vice president's personal residence "are and shall remain subject to the exclusive ownership, custody and control of OVP."
The case over the Secret Service logs is one of many legal battles in which the Bush White House resisted disclosure.
A few of the others:
By Associated Press Writer Pete Yost
© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- As long as we are going to screen Senator Burris'' as to his appointment and ''pay to play'' suspicions, perhaps we should do the same to ALL SENATORS sitting and newly elected so that any influence that was paid for with campaign funds and promises made for holding office can be dealt with. Might make for a whole new change in the way government works, including pork-barrel legislation.
Bush, Cheney and others of his administration will be extradited when the time comes for a War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. There is no real justification for a ''Torture Memo" to be immune to the Geneva Conventions, and soon to be former VP Cheney is at the top of the list for continuing to promote torture as defensible conduct of US Military Forces or our Government. It is not. Since he is at the top of the ladder for an illegal order, he should be prosecuted. - Reply to this comment
- So, is the Bush Administration going to jail then?
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- When Bush and Cheney leave Washington next week, the American people should make them walk home.
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- Gee, I''m so glad that a watchdog group has not requested my appointment logs. Those lap dancing honeys that visit my office would not appreciate their names being revealed to the news media bozos.
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- Al Capone had similar concerns with the IRS.
Dlck Che.. I mean Nixon with White House Tapes.
Peas in a pod.... - Reply to this comment
- ok ...so what ever happened to the 9 US Attorneys? America has been walking around in a fog. How did this Administration get so much power? This eight year stent has been run like a corrupt Corporation...Where are all the "Erin Brockovich''s" of the world?
Instead of closing Guatomo Bay... lets put the Busch Adm there, with the current "terroists", remove security, weld the doors shut.. and see what happens? - Reply to this comment
- It will be interesting to see what it is that the Bush Administration has been trying so hard to hide. They have been so preoccupied with keeping everything secret, that you can tell that Cheney was involved with the Nixon administration, and look at what we found out about Nixon and his cronies.
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- "into play with regards to who is visiting the White House is when spys are being put up in the Lincoln bedroom." Posted by Mcliar
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I suggest it goes deeper. For instance, we will see how many times Haliburton representatives were there. The whole lobby (pay to play) system might just open up like a book. All the Energy Czars had to have been there to visit Cheney and Bush at various times.
It is certainly about time that we shine some sunlight on the dark corners of the current White House. - Reply to this comment
- "What has the DEMOCRATS EVER DONE FOR THE BLACKS? " Lets see, ended legal segregation, passed the voting rights act, created affirmative action. I guess not much. (and I am not a Dem, but a Ind.). Read your history books.
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- Regardless of what Bush/Cheney think, they are still public officials and subject to the same rules and laws as any other public official. I for one am sick and tired of their insistance of being treated special and with kid gloves. They and their administration should all be held just as accountable for the laws they have broken as would either you or I.
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- Isn''t the White House Public Housing? Aren''t the occupants paid from the Public Coffers? Don''t we have a right to know what the heck they are doing? What an arrogant, power-hungry bunch this Bush Administration is! Thank goodness the grinning chimp will be leaving soon.
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- Bush, Cheney etal must be hauled in chains to the Hague Tribunal where they are charged, tried and found guilty of war crimes and be imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
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- The only issue that is germaine is whether the public has a right to certain information that Bush and Cheney argue need to be kept secret from public scrutiny and whether the importance of such a right outweighs national security concerns.
It is a question not easily answered, but I believe all discussions concerning it need to be made in a political vacuum. Unfortunately, this may well be a pipe dream. Politics has taken all aspects of government and I personally am weary and disgusted by it. Let''s remember who we are: Americans, and not let our political affiiiations quash our independant and rational view of the issues.
I personally beleive that the deletion of white house visitors from the log by the secret service smells like a coverup, especially when considered in the context of the history of secrecy and arrogance that defines the Bush and Chaney culture. - Reply to this comment
- The real victory of this past election is that the Repubs will not be able to continue placing far-right reactionary judges into the federal court system.
One or two more Scalia''s on the Supreme Court and the average citizen in this country wouldn''t stand a chance against big business or government''s trashing of Constitutional rights.
McCain may have seemed more competent than Bush, but the danger was immense. - Reply to this comment
- thats what im sayin itdfactsu,bush put all this war and destruction into place for the almighty dollar and then tried to cover it up.good job to the judge who stepped up to him.we''re all in the shiatcan because of this greedy,murdering thief of a president.i almost dont care who won the presidency this past election because they cant do much more harm than georgie has done to this country and the world.his whole election(twice)and presidency was based on lies,greed,murder,and destruction of the american people.not to mention those in other countries that he totally destroyed.also the fact that our military is still being sent to iraq,to fight and possibly lose their lives for a war started over oil & money.now we have a new pres.obama.lets just hope he can fix some of the mess that criminal bush has done.i really hope so.
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- Judge Rules Against Bush On Visitor Logs
Rejects Admin.''s Attempt To Keep White House Visitors Secret, Declares Secret Service Records Illegally Deleted
Can''t let the American People find out Bin Laden stopped by
Jeez still covering things up billions of taxpayer dollars stolen, where bailout money went, 9/11, IRAQ WAR, Torture, Illegal Wire Tapping, Election fraud 2000/2004, etc - Reply to this comment
- What has the DEMOCRATS EVER DONE FOR THE BLACKS?
Posted by thedarkgod2 at 08:24 PM : Jan 10, 2009
They helped get one elected President Of the USA, The repugs ran a white women, oops guy. - Reply to this comment
- I like that Dsb. Ye said it nicely, Ye may have been to young to ''member Nixon going on TV in Aug 74.I was 19 and my foster parents called me in to watch it. It is the first time ever a President ever resigned and that is history, We saw it live. I was not a voter. Nixon and bush are bad. They both hurt this nation. Bush went one step on. Really bad bush really bad..Deb take care.
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- Secrecy, lies, and contempt for the Constitution and average Americans. Ten more days. He and his administration can still do a lot of damage in 10 days.
I don''t even know if I want to know what his administration is hiding, given what we do know has been done. - Reply to this comment
- Good. A judge told bush he can''t. I am waiting for the 20th 9 AM Seattle time.Mr. Obama to raise his paw in the oath of office.
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