CREW is in court today opposing the Bush administration's effort to block release of visitor records
CREW has been fighting the Bush administration's efforts to prevent the release of visitor records for the White House and the Vice Presidential mansion. We maintain these are public records and a federal district court judge agreed with us. The Bush administration is appealing -- and we'll be in the Court of Appeals today opposing them again:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wants to use the Secret Service documents to show the influence religious conservatives have on the Bush administration. The government argues that proves the records are related to the White House, not to the workings of the Secret Service, and should not be released.
"The prospect of each and every appointment record immediately becoming the subject of forced public disclosure would surely cast a chill over the ability of the president and vice president to collect information and advice," Justice Department lawyers wrote in court documents.
CREW lawyers reject that argument. They say the documents shouldn't be considered White House records simply because a watchdog group is trying to find out what the White House is up to. The Secret Service created and controlled the documents, the lawyers said, so they should be public.
Nearly two dozen news organizations, including The Associated Press, filed court documents supporting the release of the Secret Service logs.
White House Visitors Log
Of course the log is public information. Yes, the president has the right to receive advice in confidence, but the identity of the visitors he receives gives not clue as to what that advice might be. All it does is provide the public with information that it is entitled to. The White House is a public building, paid for by tax money, and who visits the president and VP is certainly the public's business. This is not a political question, it is a simple fact.
Only one president I can think of ever ran an administration that was even close to as secretive as this one. That was Richard Nixon. We found out later just why he was so secretive; his people were committing felonies with his connivance. What is Bush afraid the public will find out?
Bush has plenty of Muslim people visiting him
There are more then enough pictures of Bush holding hands with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Someone being Muslim alone is no reason to forbid or question their visit to the White House.
In fact I pray that if elected Obama would meet with Muslim leaders from all sides on a regular basis. Communication is the key to resolving conflicts.
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Same Ethics Scrutiny for Obama?
Will you scrutinize Obama having Muslim and controversial visitors at the white house if he's elected? I doubt it. You always seem to find the stupidist things to complain about.