NARA: Clinton records ready.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis - Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton - Judicial Watch Inc v U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

According to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), a portion of Hillary Clinton's White House office records from her years as first lady are now ready for release; it is now up to the Clintons to do so.

NARA informed U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson during a December 2007 court hearing; it notified President Clinton in January. Under the Presidential Records Act, Clinton has 30 days to review the documents after being notified. The National Archives said it will provide a status report of Clinton's review by March 1, 2008.

The records include Hillary Clinton's White House daily schedule. Clinton, now a senator from New York and a Democratic candidate for president, has been criticized along with her husband for withholding and delaying the release of records related to her role as first lady.

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, filed a lawsuit in July 2007 to force the release of some of those records. In October, the National Archives submitted a "Status Report and Processing Schedule" requesting an indefinite period of time to review the former first lady's White House records. To justify this request, NARA cited "the right afforded to representatives of the incumbent and former presidents to review the presidential records prior to public disclosure;' noting, on average, that President Clinton's representatives took 237 days to review previous records. However, as Judicial Watch pointed out in its response, in a separate lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly prohibited the Archives from following the section of President Bush's executive order that allows former presidents and vice presidents to...