Judge voids Bush order on public records
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Presidents don’t have indefinite veto power over which records are made public after they’ve left office, a federal judge ruled.
In a narrowly crafted ruling, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly invalidated part of President Bush’s 2001 executive order which allowed former presidents and vice presidents to review executive records before they are released under the Freedom of Information Act.
By law, the National Archives has the final say over the release of presidential records and Kollar-Kotelly ruled that Bush’s executive order “effectively eliminates” that discretion. The judge ordered the National Archives not to withhold any more documents based on that section of the executive order.
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