At behest of historians, Cheney has been ordered to preserve records
This afternoon U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the office of vice president Dick Cheney to preserve all records related to his office and the performance of his duties as the case proceeds. The order came in a case organized by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, together with the AHA, the Organization of American Historians, and the Society of American Archivists, and historians Stanley Kutler and Martin Sherwin.
In her opinion, Judge Kollar-Kottelly observed that she felt this order was necessary because it appeared the defendants in the case—the Office of the Vice President and the National Archives—were trying to narrowly define the records that should be covered by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and to avoid specifying how the records would be transferred to the Archives.
The AHA joined the case out of concern—given past arguments from the vice president’s office—that records from the office would not be properly preserved. Judge Kollar-Kottelly’s opinion seems to validate that concern, as she observed that “in the absence of a preliminary injunction, all records potentially covered by the PRA as a matter of law, will not be preserved through the termination of this litigation.”
Read entire article at Robert Townsend at the AHA blog
In her opinion, Judge Kollar-Kottelly observed that she felt this order was necessary because it appeared the defendants in the case—the Office of the Vice President and the National Archives—were trying to narrowly define the records that should be covered by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and to avoid specifying how the records would be transferred to the Archives.
The AHA joined the case out of concern—given past arguments from the vice president’s office—that records from the office would not be properly preserved. Judge Kollar-Kottelly’s opinion seems to validate that concern, as she observed that “in the absence of a preliminary injunction, all records potentially covered by the PRA as a matter of law, will not be preserved through the termination of this litigation.”