All posts tagged "White House Records"

A federal appeals panel appeared deeply doubtful Friday of the Justice Department’s argument that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, with one judge calling the government’s position “sad,” The New York Times reported on Friday.

The 1978 law, a post-Watergate measure, treats White House records as government property that must be saved and handed to the National Archives. Justice Department lawyer John Bailey told the D.C. Circuit panel the statute intrudes on the presidency and has outlived its usefulness. He warned a future president might use the records to embarrass a predecessor’s staff.

Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, rejected that framing. “That is such a sad and such a partisan view,” she said. She added that it assumed the separation of powers protects only the current president, which has never been true....