January, 09 2009, 03:39pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Naomi Seligman 202.408.5565
CREW Wins Major Court Victory, Foisting Transparency Upon the White House
WASHINGTON
Today, in two separate CREW lawsuits, the U.S. District Court for D.C. ruled that the White House visitor records maintained by the Secret Service are not subject to the presidential communications privilege and must be disclosed. CREW is seeking records of visits made by nine conservative religious leaders as well as records of visits by Stephen Payne, who was caught on videotape attempting to sell access to top White House officials in return for contributions to the Bush presidential library.
In an earlier ruling U.S. Chief District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth rejected the government's claim that the records were presidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Once ordered to process CREW's requests, the Bush administration argued it could not even disclose whether it had responsive records because doing so would reveal information protected by the presidential communications privilege. Judge Lamberth rejected this sweeping and unprecedented argument finding that hiding the identities of those who visit the White House from the public undermines the FOIA's goal of fostering openness and accountability in government.
Judge Lamberth also granted, in large part, CREW's claim under the Federal Records Act (FRA) that the Secret Service had impermissibly destroyed federal records. At the direction of the White House, the Secret Service destroyed visitor records without retaining copies. The court found the archivist had violated his legal obligation to ask the attorney general to initiate legal action to recover the deleted records and ordered the archivist to do so now.
Anne Weismann, CREW's chief counsel, stated, "CREW's victory today reaffirms the public's right to know what the government is doing. We are pleased that the judicial branch has ripped the cloak of secrecy away from the White House and we hope the incoming administration takes heed of the court's decision and ensures Secret Service records are available to the public."
Read the Court's opinions in both cases in the Related Documents section on the right of this page.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach.
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