President George W. Bush can keep a secret. During the last six years, Judicial Watch has filed more than 350 Freedom of Information Act requests with the Bush administration to gain access to government documents. On too many occasions, we have received this response: None of your business.

This unprecedented secrecy can be attributed to political self-interest. The Bush folks do not want to provide any ammunition for a hostile media or the Democratic propaganda machine.

But what about all the evidence related to the crimes of Bill Clinton, the man from the “other party” who drove President Bush’s father from power in 1992? The junior Bush rode into the White House in 2001 promising to give the Oval Office a “good scrubbing.” Certainly he would accommodate reasonable open records requests related to the various Clinton-era scandals, right?

Wrong.

Bush protects Clinton

Case in point: Bill Clinton’s presidential papers. On Jan. 20, more than 80 million pages of documents and 20 million e-mails from the Clinton administration were “made available” to the public for the first time. These documents, housed at the Clinton Presidential Library, likely contain a treasure trove of information related to the Clinton scandals.

Unfortunately, the public’s ability to gain access to these documents continues to be obstructed by an executive order signed by President Bush in November 2001 that virtually gutted the Presidential Records Act.

The act, passed by Congress in 1978 in the wake of Watergate, mandated that all presidential papers are the property of the U.S. government and must be released (with some exceptions for national security) within 12 years of the end of a presidential term.

Under Executive Order 13223 signed by Bush, however, U.S. presidents, sitting and former, can veto the release of these presidential papers. In other words, this new interpretation of the Presidential Records Act allows the incumbent president, a former president — even the family of a deceased president — carte blanche authority to withhold documents that might be incriminating or embarrassing. This “family veto” provision carries with it no appeal process.

Families receive veto

Truth be told, the president was likely trying to keep secret possibly incriminating information involving his father. Thousands of documents pertaining to Iran-contra were due to be released, some of which reportedly involved the senior Bush. Iran-contra involved the U.S. selling arms to Iran in hopes of freeing hostages; the proceeds were funneled to anti-Sandinista fighters.

Another consequence, however, is that Bill Clinton’s possible crimes and transgressions would continue to be a well-kept government secret, perhaps in perpetuity. (And Bush’s new interpretations will come in handy when his records become public in 2021.)

Was the president trying to protect Bill and Hillary Clinton? At face value, that seems unlikely given the political differences.

Clinton records relevant

But you really have to wonder. Time after time, Judicial Watch has attempted to hold the Clintons accountable. On each occasion Bush has aggressively protected him.

The pursuit of truth in the Clinton scandals is just as relevant today as it was during the Clinton era. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, and her husband continues to throw his weight around the world stage.

Bush could throw a large monkey wrench into the Clintons’ plans by rescinding his order. He won’t, of course. It’s going to take a president not named Bush or Clinton to make that happen.

Tom Fitton is president of Judicial Watch, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational foundation that fights government corruption and judicial abuse.