Presidential Order 13233 and the purpose of Presidential Libraries
Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Opinion
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As historians at SMU we have no collective position about bringing the Bush Presidential Library, Museum and Institute to this campus. Some of us favor it; others do not. We do believe, however, that there is one related issue on which we can speak. This is the matter of Presidential Order 13233, which gives current and former presidents the power to withhold records in presidential libraries virtually at their discretion.
Like many historians elsewhere, we are worried about several provisions of the order. In our opinion, these go against Congress's purpose when it passed the Presidential Libraries Act.
First, the order grants power to incumbent presidents to overrule determinations by former presidents that records in "their" presidential libraries may be released. We are very concerned that an incumbent president might exert this power to block the release of a former administration's material merely because it would be politically detrimental. That could happen in either direction, a Democratic incumbent blocking the access to the records of a Republican predecessor, or a Republican blocking access to those of a Democrat.
Second, the order empowers former presidents to designate representatives who can act for them, including in cases of the former president's death or disability. If in such a case there is no designated representative, the former president's family may appoint one. These representatives will act with the full power of the former president, "including with respect to . . . constitutionally based privileges."
In our opinion, these provisions create real possibilities for stifling legitimate and necessary public discussion. We accept that a former president may enjoy some continuation of the executive privilege that obtained during that person's time in office. But "designated representatives" exercising legal privileges on matters of public interest without public accountability are unknown to the Constitution. Moreover, until Executive Order 13233, membership in an American presidential family has never led to extraordinary political rights, beyond the rights we all share as citizens.
Like many historians elsewhere, we are worried about several provisions of the order. In our opinion, these go against Congress's purpose when it passed the Presidential Libraries Act.
First, the order grants power to incumbent presidents to overrule determinations by former presidents that records in "their" presidential libraries may be released. We are very concerned that an incumbent president might exert this power to block the release of a former administration's material merely because it would be politically detrimental. That could happen in either direction, a Democratic incumbent blocking the access to the records of a Republican predecessor, or a Republican blocking access to those of a Democrat.
Second, the order empowers former presidents to designate representatives who can act for them, including in cases of the former president's death or disability. If in such a case there is no designated representative, the former president's family may appoint one. These representatives will act with the full power of the former president, "including with respect to . . . constitutionally based privileges."
In our opinion, these provisions create real possibilities for stifling legitimate and necessary public discussion. We accept that a former president may enjoy some continuation of the executive privilege that obtained during that person's time in office. But "designated representatives" exercising legal privileges on matters of public interest without public accountability are unknown to the Constitution. Moreover, until Executive Order 13233, membership in an American presidential family has never led to extraordinary political rights, beyond the rights we all share as citizens.
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Ryan
posted 2/08/07 @ 2:25 AM CST
I was hoping I would see something pertaining to Executive Order 13233 in the DC after reading about it in the Dallas Morning News. What scares me is the correlation between this president and Nixon. (Continued…)
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