Judicial Watch Files Lawsuit to Obtain Records From Clinton Presidential Library for Hillary Clinton Documents

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - July 18, 2007) - Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it filed a lawsuit on July 16, 2007 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration to obtain access to the following records from the Clinton Presidential Library: "First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's calendar, to include but not limited to her daily office diary, schedule, day planner, telephone log book, and chronological file." The Archives, which operates and maintains Clinton Presidential Library records, failed to respond to Judicial Watch's April 5, 2006 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

"Judicial Watch has a clear statutory right to have the Library search for and produce all non-exempt records responsive to its April 5, 2206 FOIA request within the time frame required by the [law]. The Library also is required to produce an index of any responsive records it seeks to withhold from Judicial Watch under the claim of exemption," Judicial Watch wrote in its court filing. "Although more than 15 months have passed since Judicial Watch served its request, the Library has failed to do either."

Judicial Watch is seeking Mrs. Clinton's records from January 1, 1993 to January 20, 2001, the approximate time period during which she served as First Lady.

On January 20, 2006, more than 80 million pages of documents and 20 million e-mails from the Clinton administration were supposed to be made available to the public, yet only a portion have been released. Judicial Watch believes these documents potentially contain a treasure trove of previously undisclosed information. (Judicial Watch has made a number of requests to the Clinton Presidential Library concerning various Clinton administration scandals.)

"Given Mrs. Clinton's current status as a presidential candidate, if not the front-runner for the Democratic Party's nomination, the public interest in her tenure as First Lady is undeniable," Judicial Watch stated in its lawsuit. "Because Mrs. Clinton seeks our nation's highest office and may well be the next President of the United States, the public interest weighs heavily in favor of enjoining the Library from continuing to withhold the records at issue."

"This lawsuit is a first step in obtaining access to new documents about Hillary Clinton's role in the Clinton White House. With Hillary Clinton aggressively pursuing the presidency, uncovering the truth about her activities in the White House is just as relevant today as it was during the Clinton era," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The law requires the timely release of these and other Clinton White House documents. The court should compel the Archives to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and quickly release these records."

Court filings related to Judicial Watch's lawsuit, along with Clinton Presidential Library documents already uncovered by Judicial Watch, are available on Judicial Watch's Internet site, www.judicialwatch.org.

Contact Information: Contact: Jill Farrell 202-646-5188