If the "modern records management world" assesses records (generally, this is 
not limited to regulatory records) in order to

> A) meet current and future business needs, 
> B) comply with legal requirements, and
> C) meet current and futhre needs of internal and external stakeholders

then I am curious how you all would have handled the removal ("alienation") 
of the Kissinger telcon recoreds in 1975.  I linked to related materials here 
on the List a couple of weeks ago.  In removing the records, Dr. Kissinger 
obviously viewed the Department of State's "business needs" differently than most 
records managers and agency historians would have.  In cases of competing 
dynamics among stakeholders, whose "current" and "future" business needs should 
prevail?  

In reading List responses, I'm sometimes left with the impression that in 
such a scenario, with a matchup between the records manager and the records 
creator, the most powerful person (Dr. Kissinger) would have prevailed, legal 
requirements notwithstanding.  Would most of you have been okay with that?  Is 
allowing the most powerful person to prevail simply part of the price of surviving 
professionally in the "modern world?"  Or do most records managers strive to 
ensure that legal requirements prevail, regardless of political pressure, to 
say nothing of their own political views, etc?  (I voted for Nixon and 
supported his policies while he was in office but I know that I would have sought to 
stop Kissinger from removing the records.  See also the Kutler lawsuit filed in 
1992, in which I testified.)  

The Kissinger/Department of State scenario seems to present the type of 
ethical quandary which I want to learn more about.   I'm curious as to how records 
managers handle "real world" (as opposed to "ideal world") scenarios such as 
this one.  But I rarely see discussion of such issues on the List, perhaps 
because so many of the debates center on corporate and regulatory records, rather 
than ones that capture national history.

Maarja

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