Archives Must Rely On Bush's Good Faith For Records

NARA Cannot Assure Complete Transfer of Bush Records


The impending transfer of Bush Administration records to the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will challenge the capacity of the Archives to absorb them because of their enormous volume and the diverse formats of various electronic records.

But there is also a fundamental question concerning the integrity of the transfer process, which relies on the good faith of executive branch officials and which can be subverted by design or neglect.

“There really is no practical way we know of for NARA to be assured that every document in paper or electronic form has been received from an agency,” Dr. Allen Weinstein, the former Archivist of the United States, told Congress last year (pdf, at p. 136). “Nor can NARA police the records management practices of over 300 federal agencies to ensure that permanent records are not purposefully or unintentionally withheld from the National Archives. Federal agencies are expected to fulfill their statutory responsibilities.”

“NARA must rely on the agency records officers, other agency officials, and a vigilant public and press to inform us of any such failure to act,” he said.

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http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/01/transfer_of_bush_records.html

if this whole gang of thieves ends up going to prison for destroying the records of crimes that would have sent them to prison.

Destruction of the historical record is a crime in itself.

Anything that relies on the good faith of this executive branch is never going to happen.

IMO the Bush archives shouldn't even be called "archives", because the lack of complete records defies the definition of the word.

HE IS NOT AN AMERICAN :puke:

by running the shredders 24/7, right up to 1/20.

As to the variety of records formats, that is something that is not new. The records need to be transferred with the operating system. This was something that was discussed when the National Archives again became an independent agency. The Archivist of the United States was to be a professional appointment. This concept has been lost - Dr. Weinstein submitted his resignation. Perhaps he should have stayed in place like his predecessor did.