Press

PRESS

November 21, 2008

Judge in CREW’s Lawsuit Against VP Cheney Authorizes Addtional Deposition & Sets Briefing Schedule

Lawsuits, Federal Agencies, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), The White House, Transparency, Press Releases, Vice President Cheney

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, in CREW, et al. v. Cheney, et al., the court granted CREW’s request to take an additional deposition of Nancy Smith, the National Archives and Records Administration official responsible for presidential papers under the Presidential Records Act (PRA). When CREW first deposed Ms. Smith on November 10, she raised the existence of three memoranda that had been drafted by the White House and directly concerned the administration’s adherence to the PRA. Though the defendants initially objected to questions concerning these memoranda based on privilege, the court decided that the third memorandum, which specifically concerns Vice-Presidential records, fell within the scope of discovery. The court has ordered that CREW take the deposition of Ms. Smith no later that December 1, specifically for the purpose of learning about the memorandum in question. Additionally, the court has set a briefing schedule that would have motions for dismissal or summary judgment in the case completed by December 31.

The depositions come as part of a lawsuit CREW filed on September 8 against Vice President Cheney, the National Archives and Records Administration and the archivist to challenge the Vice President’s resistance to adhering to the PRA. If action is not forced, a vast majority of the Vice President’s records will not be released to the public when the administration leaves office in January.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact David Merchant at 202.408.5565 or dmerchant@citizensforethics.org