It may be recalled that in
October 2001, President
Bush issued Executive Order 13233, which set forth very restrictive
procedures
for releasing documents subject to claims of executive privilege by
former
Presidents. At the time, the Order was criticized for curtailing the
1978
Presidential Records Act. There were suggestions that a purpose of the
Order
was to protect prospective Bush nominees who had served in the prior
Reagan and
Bush administrations.
President Bush has been rather
systematic in
protecting and extending executive privileges from congressional
disclosure,
choosing to allow Miguel Estrada’s nomination to fail instead of
releasing documents. So, the Administration probably perceives an
issue
of principle and/or precedent that may make it difficult for them to
accede to
the release of these documents.
Scott Rafferty
4730 Massachusetts Avenue
Washington DC
20016
202-966-0808