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LOL cherry picking
Posted on: October 24, 2022 at 07:22:29 CT
JayHoaxH8r MU
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The Court could very legitimately hold otherwise. There is some precedent for court interference with executive branch recordkeeping practices. In CREW v. Cheney found that mandamus was an available remedy for a Vice President’s failure to classify certain documents as Presidential Records. 593 F. Supp. 2d 194 (D.D.C. 2009). And in American Historical Ass’n v. Peterson, the District Court invalidated an agreement between President George H.W. Bush and the Archivist that would have conferred complete control of Presidential Records on the President after he left office. 876 F. Supp. 1300 (D.D.C. 1995).
Further, while the President controls the manner in which the White House will retain and preserve records, the PRA expressly requires that those records be preserved. Even the language in Armstrong I implies a dichotomy between the statute’s mandate and its manner of administration:“Congress balanced these competing goals [of Presidential discretion and the need for public disclosure] by requiringthe President to maintain records documenting the policies, activities, and decisions of his administration, but leaving the implementationof such a requirement in the President’s hands” (emphasis added). By destroying records and allowing his advisors to destroy records, the President is defying the express will of Congress.
The legislative history likewise suggests that Congress intended the PRA to bind the President. Consider this excerpt from the House Report on the proposed bill: “The [PRA] would terminate the tradition of private ownership of Presidential papers and the reliance on volunteerism to determine the fate of their disposition. Instead, the preservation of the historical record of the future Presidencies would be assuredand public access to the materials would be consistent under standards fixed in law.”H.R. No. 95-1487, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. § 2 (1978) (emphasis added). Those standards of preservation are up to the President, but he may not decline to have any standards at all.
If the courts decline to enforce the PRA, how else might the public’s right of access to Presidential Records be assured? Congress could attempt to bring a lawsuit against the Chief Executive for violating the PRA, forcing the courts to develop the law on Congressional Article III standing. Otherwise, it will be up to the people to hold their President accountable. As Bob Dylan once sang, “To live outside the law, you must be honest.” The President, for better and for worse, lives somewhat outside the law. It is up to all of us to keep him honest.
Poor spanked.
Further, while the President controls the manner in which the White House will retain and preserve records, the PRA expressly requires that those records be preserved. Even the language in Armstrong I implies a dichotomy between the statute’s mandate and its manner of administration:“Congress balanced these competing goals [of Presidential discretion and the need for public disclosure] by requiringthe President to maintain records documenting the policies, activities, and decisions of his administration, but leaving the implementationof such a requirement in the President’s hands” (emphasis added). By destroying records and allowing his advisors to destroy records, the President is defying the express will of Congress.
The legislative history likewise suggests that Congress intended the PRA to bind the President. Consider this excerpt from the House Report on the proposed bill: “The [PRA] would terminate the tradition of private ownership of Presidential papers and the reliance on volunteerism to determine the fate of their disposition. Instead, the preservation of the historical record of the future Presidencies would be assuredand public access to the materials would be consistent under standards fixed in law.”H.R. No. 95-1487, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. § 2 (1978) (emphasis added). Those standards of preservation are up to the President, but he may not decline to have any standards at all.
If the courts decline to enforce the PRA, how else might the public’s right of access to Presidential Records be assured? Congress could attempt to bring a lawsuit against the Chief Executive for violating the PRA, forcing the courts to develop the law on Congressional Article III standing. Otherwise, it will be up to the people to hold their President accountable. As Bob Dylan once sang, “To live outside the law, you must be honest.” The President, for better and for worse, lives somewhat outside the law. It is up to all of us to keep him honest.
Poor spanked.
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LOL cherry picking - JayHoaxH8r MU - 10/24 07:22:29