Posted on 12/17/2007 11:54:00 AM PST by tobyhill
WASHINGTON - 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Didn’t we go through this same question during the Clinton Admin?
It’s the never ending question, can a President have private visitors?
In May 2003, in a case brought by the families of the 241 servicemen who were killed in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, Lamberth declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran was responsible for the 1983 attack. Lamberth concluded that Hezbollah was formed under the auspices of the Iranian government, was completely reliant on Iran in 1983, and assisted Iranian Ministry of Information and Security agents in carrying out the operation. On September 7, 2007, Judge Lamberth ordered that Iran pay USD$2.65 billion to the families of the 241 U.S. servicepersons killed in the bombing.
—Wikepedia
Yes, I seem to recall there being a big to-do about releasing lists of who had stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom and detail of the comings and goings (pun intended) of Monica Lewinski in and out of the Oval Office........
Will we finally find out if Marilyn Monroe really did visit Kennedy?
(If I need a sarcasm tag, it spoils the point.)
This ruling opens the door to speculation without fact of anyone who has ever spoken to the President in the White House and trust me, the MSM will pounce on this very opportunity.
Don’t appeal. Write a Jacksonian letter stating that separation of powers in the Constitution does not allow ANY court a say in this matter. The court is out of order.
There's no log for backdoor visitors.
I like that idea.
Oh, the horror!
I seem to remember something about the logs being made available regarding Monica’s visits.
I also recall that Clinton had to turn over some 32,000 emails (to Congressional investigators) his Admin claimed were private, but the Court said were not.
The Hsu’s gonna hit the fan if we go back far enough.
I think CREW is going to be surprised how little they find on this administration but they’ll have the MSM to make like one visit from a “Religious Conservative” seem like the crime of the century.
Apparently this is about finding out how many times Abramoff visited and who he visited.
This lack of transparency fundamentally bugs the hell out of me. Excluding classified, subject- and time-sensitive material, no governmental body should be able to hide its work behind a wall of administrative and regulator red tape.
I understand that this is mountain-molehill, territorial stuff ... but government transparency is something our democracy needs to function. Imagine the nightmare of someone like Hillary Clinton being handed the reigns of a black box federal government.
Agreed. W is dead wrong on this one. Good government demands transparency.
The President must be accountable. He gives up a great deal of his personal privacy when he moves into our house.
Good, when do we get the Clinton logs... the sooner the better.
HEY, WHO HAS THE KEYS TO THE TRAILER?
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