Court to White House: Disclose Visitor Records.

9 Jan 2009 // U.S. Chief District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled today that the White House must disclose the Secret Service’s records of who visits the White House, finding that those records are not subject to presidential privileges that allow them to be kept secret.

It was a victory for the left-leaning watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which had requested the records of visits made by nine conservative religious leaders, as well as records of visits by Stephen Payne, who allegedly attempted to sell access to top White House officials in return for contributions to the Bush presidential library.

“CREW’s victory today reaffirms the public’s right to know what the government is doing. We are pleased that the judicial branch has ripped the cloak of secrecy away from the White House and we hope the incoming administration takes heed of the court’s decision and ensures Secret Service records are available to the public,” said Anne Weismann, CREW’s chief counsel.