All the President's Records
When President Bush signed an executive order that barred access to the records of past presidents and vice presidents, it made Stanley Kutler wonder.
Specifically, he says, it "really makes you wonder what's in those papers."
Kutler, an emeritus professor of history, is among many academics who are concerned that wondering is all they'll be able to do. Under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, papers, tapes, and other presidential materials became public record after twelve years — which boosts the work of historians, authors, and other researchers, and, they say, the public's faith in government.
Records from the Reagan administration would be accessible now, if not for Bush's executive order, which closes them in the interest of national security. If the order stands, scholarly inquiry in a number of disciplines will be undercut severely, Kutler says. "Research by historians, archivists, and journalists depends on access to records," he says. "This executive order has the potential to stall a great deal of work."
Specifically, he says, it "really makes you wonder what's in those papers."
Kutler, an emeritus professor of history, is among many academics who are concerned that wondering is all they'll be able to do. Under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, papers, tapes, and other presidential materials became public record after twelve years — which boosts the work of historians, authors, and other researchers, and, they say, the public's faith in government.
Records from the Reagan administration would be accessible now, if not for Bush's executive order, which closes them in the interest of national security. If the order stands, scholarly inquiry in a number of disciplines will be undercut severely, Kutler says. "Research by historians, archivists, and journalists depends on access to records," he says. "This executive order has the potential to stall a great deal of work."
Kutler's own work during the past decade dealt with the presidential records — audiotapes, to be precise — of Richard Nixon.
In 1992, Kutler successfully filed suit to have the tapes dealing with the Watergate break-in declared open to the public. Ten years later, he has joined a lawsuit to reinstate the Presidential Records Act.
John Cooper, Kutler's colleague in the history department and an authority on Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations, thinks the matter may be settled before the suit gets to court. Congress is expected to try to void the order, and Cooper predicts it will succeed. "I think Congress will chip away at it," he says, noting that the elder Bush failed during his presidency to prevent access to Oliver North's e-mails during the Iran-Contra affair.
In 1992, Kutler successfully filed suit to have the tapes dealing with the Watergate break-in declared open to the public. Ten years later, he has joined a lawsuit to reinstate the Presidential Records Act.
John Cooper, Kutler's colleague in the history department and an authority on Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations, thinks the matter may be settled before the suit gets to court. Congress is expected to try to void the order, and Cooper predicts it will succeed. "I think Congress will chip away at it," he says, noting that the elder Bush failed during his presidency to prevent access to Oliver North's e-mails during the Iran-Contra affair.
Kutler concurs. "Congress is looking for an honorable way out of this (executive order)," he says. "Both parties are committed to overturning it. This is not in any way a partisan issue."
He thinks of it, instead, as a family issue — an attempt by Bush to help shield his father from a prying public. The elder Bush's records as Reagan's vice president have been effectively sealed by the order.
"Bush Jr. has been aiming toward this (executive order) since the day he took office," Kutler says. "Really makes you wonder what's in those files."
He thinks of it, instead, as a family issue — an attempt by Bush to help shield his father from a prying public. The elder Bush's records as Reagan's vice president have been effectively sealed by the order.
"Bush Jr. has been aiming toward this (executive order) since the day he took office," Kutler says. "Really makes you wonder what's in those files."
