Obama keeps visitor logs under wraps.

• Position: GOVERNMENT RECORDS - Barack Obama

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At least one open government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for access to the records. It sought the records, it said, to check up on the Obama administration's meetings with coal industry executives. In the lawsuit, the nonprofit group noted that Obama's policy is the same as that of George W. Bush's on the issue.

MSNBC.com said it requested the names of all White House visitors since January 20, but its request was denied by the Secret Service.

In a letter to CREW, DHS wrote that visitor log records are presidential records and, thus, exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. According to an Associated Press report, DHS said it was advised by the Justice Department, which usually defends U.S. government agencies in FOIA cases, that releasing the requested records could reveal information protected by presidential privilege.

The Bush administration used the same argument to deny public access to its visitor records and sparked lawsuits that continue today. In May 2006, Bush officials approved a memorandum of understanding with the Secret Service, declaring that logs are agency records under White House control.

After its request for visitor logs was denied in 2006, CREW filed a lawsuit. In 2007, a federal judge ruled the logs were public records subject to FOIA and gave the White House 20 days to produce them. In September 2008, DHS...