The Emperor has no uniform...
Associated Press: The Associated Press sued the Pentagon and the Air Force on Tuesday, seeking access to all records of George W. Bush's military service during the Vietnam War.
Filed in federal court in New York, where The AP
is headquartered, the lawsuit seeks access to a copy
of Bush's microfilmed personnel file from the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission in Austin...
Controversy surrounds Bush's time in the Texas Air
National Guard because it is unclear from the record
what duties he performed for the military when he was
working on the political campaign of a U.S. Senate
candidate in Alabama.
There are questions as to whether the file
provided to the news media earlier this year is
complete, says the lawsuit, adding that these
questions could possibly be answered by reviewing a
copy of the microfilm of Bush's personnel file in the
Texas archives.
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AP Sues for Access to Bush Guard Records
By The Associated Press
Tuesday 22 June 2004
Washington - The Associated Press sued the
Pentagon and the Air Force on Tuesday, seeking access
to all records of George W. Bush's military service
during the Vietnam War.
Filed in federal court in New York, where The AP
is headquartered, the lawsuit seeks access to a copy
of Bush's microfilmed personnel file from the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission in Austin.
The White House says the government has already
released all the records of Bush's military service.
Controversy surrounds Bush's time in the Texas Air
National Guard because it is unclear from the record
what duties he performed for the military when he was
working on the political campaign of a U.S. Senate
candidate in Alabama.
There are questions as to whether the file
provided to the news media earlier this year is
complete, says the lawsuit, adding that these
questions could possibly be answered by reviewing a
copy of the microfilm of Bush's personnel file in the
Texas archives.
The Air National Guard of the United States, a
federal entity, has control of the microfilm, which
should be disclosed in its entirety under the Freedom
of Information Act, the lawsuit says.
The White House has yet to respond to a request by
the AP in April asking the president to sign a written
waiver of his right to keep records of his military
service confidential. Bush gave an oral waiver in a TV
appearance that preceded the White House's release
this year of materials concerning his National Guard
service.
The government "did not expedite their response
... they did not produce the file within the time
required by law, and they will not now estimate when
the file might be produced or even confirm that an
effort has been initiated to retrieve a copy from the
microfilm at the Texas archives," the lawsuit says.
In the absence of any privacy objection by the
president and in light of the importance of the file's
release in advance of the November election, says the
lawsuit, AP seeks a court order to compel the release
of records "that are being unlawfully withheld from
the public."
The released records were from the Texas Air
National Guard at Camp Mabry and the Defense Financing
Accounting Service in Denver.
Under Texas law, a copy of military personnel
files of those serving in the Texas Air National Guard
must be retained on microfilm at the Texas archives.
The lawsuit says that no one has looked at any of
the Texas Air National Guard records maintained at the
state archives since 1996.
Responding to AP's request, the Texas Air National
Guard concluded that Bush's file was a federal record
under control of the U.S. Air National Guard.
When the government did not produce the documents,
AP appealed to the Pentagon, saying that by law, the
microfilm copy should have been produced within 20
days. The Pentagon said it could not respond within
the legally required period.
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Posted by richard at June 24, 2004 09:30 AM