Research Briefing

The Obama Administration Again Uses Former President Bill Clinton For Transparency End-Run

AFTER ASSERTING THAT OBAMA WON’T USE EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE ON KAGAN RECORDS, WHITE HOUSE NOW USING CLINTON’S “CONFIDENTIALITY INTERESTS” AS COVER

On May 15th, White House Counsel Robert Bauer Told The National Archives To Expedite Records Release. “To aid the Senate’s consideration of Ms. Kagan’s nomination, I am writing to request that you expedite the release of the … records relating to Ms. Kagan’s White House service.” (Robert Bauer, Letter To David S. Ferriero, Archivist Of The United States, 5/15/10)

• Bauer: “President Obama Does Not Intend To Assert Executive Privilege Over Any Of The Documents…” (Robert Bauer, Letter To Sen. Jeff Sessions, 6/1/10)

Less Than A Month Later, Bauer Says Documents Will Be Restricted, Citing Clinton’s “Confidentiality Interests.” “White House counsel Bob Bauer informed [Sen. Jeff] Sessions in a letter Tuesday that the Obama administration would not block the release of documents from the Clinton archive… Bauer, however, wrote that former President Bill Clinton may have ‘confidentiality interests’ in the documents that need to be protected. Bauer argued that is why it is necessary for a representative appointed by Clinton to review the files… Obama has not waived executive privilege but merely announced the intention of doing so, giving him flexibility to invoke the privilege at a later time depending on case-by-case determination.” (Alexander Bolton, “Fight Over Kagan Documents Heats Up,” The Hill, 6/2/10)

THIS OF COURSE ISN’T THE FIRST TIME OBAMA USING CLINTON TO AVOID TRANSPARENCY…

Bill Clinton Was Enlisted To Offer Joe Sestak An Administration Job To Get Him To Drop Out Of Senate Race. “In classic Washington fashion last summer, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel dispatched former president Bill Clinton to put the arm on an old friend, Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania. Sestak was planning to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary; Emanuel wanted him out of the way.” (Michael D. Shear, “Sestak: Bill Clinton Offered Him Job To Quit Race,” The Washington Post, 5/28/10)

• “The White House Chief of Staff enlisted the support of former President Clinton who agreed to raise with Congressman Sestak options of service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board. Congressman Sestak declined the suggested alternatives, remaining committed to his Senate candidacy.” (Robert F. Bauer, Memorandum from White House Counsel Regarding the Review of Discussions Relating to Congressman Sestak, The White House, 5/28/10)

IS THIS JUST ANOTHER SIGN OF BUSINESS AS USUAL

AT THE “NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL” WHITE HOUSE? 

The Press Noted White House’s Stonewalling With Sestak & Romanoff

NBC's Mike Viqueira: “It might be business as usual, but the bad news for the Obama team is that it's business as usual and it's even worse news that they're not very good at it...” (MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown," 6/3/10) 

Roll Call's David Drucker: “I think it's a problem particularly because this White House and this president sold themselves as being above politics as usual. ... The thing here is an image issue.” (Fox News' "America's Newsroom," 6/3/10)

CREW's Melanie Sloan: “[T]he Obama White House has said it was going to behave different than other White Houses. It was going to be more transparent, more ethical than everyone else. And this shows they were horse-trading just like everyone else.” (CNN's "American Morning," 6/3/10) 

The Denver Post: “We don't know what to make of all the secrecy. Without an explanation, voters are left to wonder who to believe.” (Editorial, "Clear The Air On Romanoff Deal," The Denver Post, 6/2/10)