BREAKING: Major victory for CREW: Federal judge rules White House and VP residence visitor records are subject to FOIA
This just in.
Today, the court in CREW v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Security issued an opinion holding that White House visitor records that the Secret Service creates and maintains are agency records subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Judge Lamberth rejected the government's arguments that the records were under the exclusive control of the White House and therefore not agency records subject to the FOIA. In particular, Judge Lamberth rejected the memorandum of understanding that the Secret Service and White House entered into and on which they were relying as evidence that the records belonged to the White House, calling the agreement "self-serving" because it was executed after the Secret Service created the records and was sued by CREW for them.
As a result of today's ruling, records of visits to both the White House complex and the residency of the vice president are now publicly available through the FOIA.
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Wilkes, Wade, Cunningham, D.C. Madam clients, etc in logs
While CREW pushed forward with the logs being made public records mostly to learn what kind of access Abramoff had to WH officials, it cannot be forgotten that Brent Wilkes--a convicted federal contractor still to go on trial for his bribing of the former CIA Executive Director--Dusty Foggo, too, had extensive access to White House officials. It already was made public the FBI was looking into a Wilkes-Foggo-Randy Cunningham-Russian Biz Execs meeting with Cheney in 1/02 and another such meeting in 6/02. Wilkes' contract to supply the VP's office with office and off-the-shelf computer equipment in the same amount as a boat bought for Cunningham cost the following month, too, is under investigation by the feds and House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. Wilkes and Wade--Cunningham's coconspirator # 2 both were linked by 4 San Diego journalists in their book to Cheney in the early nineties.
The WH logs likely show a whole lot more that would be of interest to law enforcement and watchdogs than just Abramoff visits! Who D.C. Madam clients visited in the WH also would be included. The D.C. Madam scandal is of course, linked to the Cunningham corruption probe.