On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 10:05 AM, Matthew Hebert <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Larry,
>
> I'll take a stab at this.  I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster to
> this listserv.
>
> The Presidential Recordings Act didn't go into statutory effect until 1981,
> even though it was passed in 1978.  Prior to the Presidential Records Act,
> Presidential materials were the private property of the President and his
> staff.  All NARA Presidential libraries before Nixon, as well as the Ford
> and Carter libraries, rely on Deed of Gift for their presidential
> materials.
>
> So, from a legal standpoint with regard to the PRA, I can see how Mr. Raab
> might have ended up with the tape.
>
> I'm not sure about the classified/unclassified aspect.  But if it was never
> officially judged to be classified by any government agency or White House
> staff member, I assume it is automatically considered unclassified.  I
> think it boils down to the nature of the information discussed on the tape
> and whether it meets certain thresholds.  Since it's gone to press, I can
> only guess it's been vetted.
>
>
>
Thanks for clarifying that Matt.

I was recalling an amendment made by Reagan that made reference to
applicability to "records of former Presidents", but I have to assume that
only applied to his immediate predecessor.

And thinking a bit more after I sent my post, these were records related to
the President, not Presidential records (records generated by the Office of
the President) so the PRA wouldn't have any bearing on them.  Even after
the fact, the issue of National Security would have been less apparent,
seeing as the code names would have all changed.

But I would still think the content (records related to the events
immediately following the death of a seated President and at the time of
the swearing in of a new President) would make the records classified at
the time they were created and until reviewed by an Authorized Derivative
Classifier (ADC), they could not be declassified. Even so, in the mid 1960s
there wasn't a lot of "declassifying" of documents taking place.

Many/most of the records related to the assassination of JFK were sealed at
the time, and also the Warren Commission had called for any records related
to the events of that day to be brought forward for their use in the
investigation.  I'd have to wonder why these recordings weren't made
available to them.  It would almost seem as if this would be withholding
evidence.

Again, seeing as these were actual recordings related to the flight of
AF-1, they obviously WERE Federal Records- belonging to the Air Force, the
Executive Office, the Secret Service or some branch of the Federal
Government.  And for an employee to alienate them on retirement is
unlawful.  Currently it's covered under 36CFR Section 1230 based on
statutory authorities in 44 USC 3105 and 3106 and penalties are prescribed
under 18 USC 641 and 2071.

I realize 36CFR was completely renumbered and reorganized in 2009, but I'm
relatively sure the citations in 44 USC and 18 USC have been around since
the 1960s.

Larry
[log in to unmask]



-- 
*Lawrence J. Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972*

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