By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish policies and procedures governing the assertion of executive privilege by incumbent and former Presidents in connection with the release of Presidential records by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) pursuant to the Presidential Records Act of 1978, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Definitions. For purposes of this order:
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(a) "Archivist" refers to the Archivist of the United States or his designee.
(b) "NARA" refers to the National Archives and Records Administration.
(c) "Presidential Records Act" refers to the Presidential Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 2201-2207.
(d) "NARA regulations" refers to the NARA regulations implementing the Presidential Records Act, 36 C.F.R. Part 1270.
(e) "Presidential records" refers to those documentary materials maintained by NARA pursuant to the Presidential Records Act, including Vice Presidential records.
(f) "Former President" refers to the former President during whose term or terms of office particular Presidential records were created.
(g) A "substantial question of executive privilege" exists if NARA's disclosure of Presidential records might impair national security (including the conduct of foreign relations), law enforcement, or the deliberative processes of the executive branch.
(h) A "final court order" is a court order from which no appeal may be taken.
Sec. 2. Notice of Intent to Disclose Presidential Records.
(a) When the Archivist provides notice to the incumbent and former Presidents of his intent to disclose Presidential records pursuant to section 1270.46 of the NARA regulations, the Archivist, using any guidelines provided by the incumbent and former Presidents, shall identify any specific materials, the disclosure of which he believes may raise a substantial question of executive privilege. However, nothing in this order is intended to affect the right of the incumbent or former Presidents to invoke executive privilege with respect to materials not identified by the Archivist. Copies of the notice for the incumbent President shall be delivered to the President (through the Counsel to the President) and the Attorney General (through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel). The copy of the notice for the former President shall be delivered to the former President or his designated representative.
(b) Upon the passage of 30 days after receipt by the incumbent and former Presidents of a notice of intent to disclose Presidential records, the Archivist may disclose the records covered by the notice, unless during that time period the Archivist has received a claim of executive privilege by the incumbent or former President or the Archivist has been instructed by the incumbent President or his designee to extend the time period for a time certain and with reason for the extension of time provided in the notice. If a shorter period of time is required under the circumstances set forth in section 1270.44 of the NARA regulations, the Archivist shall so indicate in the notice.
Sec. 3. Claim of Executive Privilege by Incumbent President.
(a) Upon receipt of a notice of intent to disclose Presidential records, the Attorney General (directly or through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel) and the Counsel to the President shall review as they deem appropriate the records covered by the notice and consult with each other, the Archivist, and such other executive agencies as they deem appropriate concerning whether invocation of executive privilege is justified.
(b) The Attorney General and the Counsel to the President, in the exercise of their discretion and after appropriate review and consultation under subsection (a) of this section, may jointly determine that invocation of executive privilege is not justified. The Archivist shall be notified promptly of any such determination.
(c) If either the Attorney General or the Counsel to the President believes that the circumstances justify invocation of executive privilege, the issue shall be presented to the President by the Counsel to the President and the Attorney General.
(d) If the President decides to invoke executive privilege, the Counsel to the President shall notify the former President, the Archivist, and the Attorney General in writing of the claim of privilege and the specific Presidential records to which it relates. After receiving such notice, the Archivist shall not disclose the privileged records unless directed to do so by an incumbent President or by a final court order.
Sec. 4. Claim of Executive Privilege by Former President.
(a) Upon receipt of a claim of executive privilege by a living former President, the Archivist shall consult with the Attorney General (through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel), the Counsel to the President, and such other executive agencies as the Archivist deems appropriate concerning the Archivist's determination as to whether to honor the former President's claim of privilege or instead to disclose the Presidential records notwithstanding the claim of privilege. Any determination under section 3 of this order that executive privilege shall not be invoked by the incumbent President shall not prejudice the Archivist's determination with respect to the former President's claim of privilege.
(b) In making the determination referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the Archivist shall abide by any instructions given him by the incumbent President or his designee unless otherwise directed by a final court order. The Archivist shall notify the incumbent and former Presidents of his determination at least 30 days prior to disclosure of the Presidential records, unless a shorter time period is required in the circumstances set forth in section 1270.44 of the NARA regulations. Copies of the notice for the incumbent President shall be delivered to the President (through the Counsel to the President) and the Attorney General (through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel). The copy of the notice for the former President shall be delivered to the former President or his designated representative.
Sec. 5. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Sec. 6. Revocation. Executive Order 13233 of November 1, 2001, is revoked.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 21, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Obama keeps his beloved Blackberry.
President Barack Obama is keeping hsi cherished BlackBerry, becoming the first sitting president to use e-mail.
It's no secret that the Secret Service was none too happy about President Barack Obama's foundness for his personal e-mail device. That's becuase the addictive hand-held communicators are popular targets for the WWW of password scammers. More worrisome for those who must protect the president: Mobile phones con be used to track the whereabouts of their users.
Still, mamy of the president's e-mails will become subject to public scrutiny some day.
"The presumption regarding those e-mails that they are all subject to the Presidentila Recorsd Act" said Gibbs, which means that all but purely personal missives eventually will end up in the National Archives.
It's no secret that the Secret Service was none too happy about President Barack Obama's foundness for his personal e-mail device. That's becuase the addictive hand-held communicators are popular targets for the WWW of password scammers. More worrisome for those who must protect the president: Mobile phones con be used to track the whereabouts of their users.
Still, mamy of the president's e-mails will become subject to public scrutiny some day.
"The presumption regarding those e-mails that they are all subject to the Presidentila Recorsd Act" said Gibbs, which means that all but purely personal missives eventually will end up in the National Archives.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Health Information Privacy
Health Information Privacy
The Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information, and the confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Act, which protects identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety.
HHS.GOV
The Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information, and the confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Act, which protects identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety.
HHS.GOV
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978
www.archives.gov
Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978
The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. ß2201-2207, governs the official records of Presidents and Vice Presidents created or received after January 20, 1981. The PRA changed the legal ownership of the official records of the President from private to public, and established a new statutory structure under which Presidents must manage their records.
Specifically, the Presidential Records Act:
Defines and states public ownership of the records.
Places the responsibility for the custody and management of incumbent Presidential records with the President.
Allows the incumbent President to dispose of records that no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value, once he has obtained the views of the Archivist of the United States on the proposed disposal.
Requires that the President and his staff take all practical steps to file personal records separately from Presidential records.
Establishes a process for restriction and public access to these records. Specifically, the PRA allows for public access to Presidential records through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) beginning five years after the end of the Administration, but allows the President to invoke as many as six specific restrictions to public access for up to twelve years. The PRA also establishes procedures for Congress, courts, and subsequent Administrations to obtain special access to records that remain closed to the public, following a thirty-day notice period to the former and current Presidents..
Requires that Vice-Presidential records are to be treated in the same way as Presidential records.
Amendments
Executive Order 12667
Issued by President Reagan in January 1989, this Executive Order established the procedures for NARA and former and incumbent Presidents to implement the PRA.
Executive Order 13233
This Executive Order, issued by President George W. Bush on November 1, 2001, supersedes the previous Executive Order. The Bush Executive Order also includes the documents of former Vice Presidents.
Page URL: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/laws/1978-act.html
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001 • Telephone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272
Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978
The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. ß2201-2207, governs the official records of Presidents and Vice Presidents created or received after January 20, 1981. The PRA changed the legal ownership of the official records of the President from private to public, and established a new statutory structure under which Presidents must manage their records.
Specifically, the Presidential Records Act:
Defines and states public ownership of the records.
Places the responsibility for the custody and management of incumbent Presidential records with the President.
Allows the incumbent President to dispose of records that no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value, once he has obtained the views of the Archivist of the United States on the proposed disposal.
Requires that the President and his staff take all practical steps to file personal records separately from Presidential records.
Establishes a process for restriction and public access to these records. Specifically, the PRA allows for public access to Presidential records through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) beginning five years after the end of the Administration, but allows the President to invoke as many as six specific restrictions to public access for up to twelve years. The PRA also establishes procedures for Congress, courts, and subsequent Administrations to obtain special access to records that remain closed to the public, following a thirty-day notice period to the former and current Presidents..
Requires that Vice-Presidential records are to be treated in the same way as Presidential records.
Amendments
Executive Order 12667
Issued by President Reagan in January 1989, this Executive Order established the procedures for NARA and former and incumbent Presidents to implement the PRA.
Executive Order 13233
This Executive Order, issued by President George W. Bush on November 1, 2001, supersedes the previous Executive Order. The Bush Executive Order also includes the documents of former Vice Presidents.
Page URL: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/laws/1978-act.html
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001 • Telephone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272
A current event/policy issue
Blogger Arrested in Korea for Post That Led to Won's Decline
By EVAN RAMSTAD
(See Correction & Amplification below.)
SEOUL -- South Korean officials arrested a blogger who for months had been criticizing the government's economic policy, charging him with spreading false rumors that led to a drop in the country's currency.
AFP
Park Dae-sung, following his court appearance in Seoul over the weekend.
Prosecutors identified Park Dae-sung, who is unemployed, as the widely read blogger writing under the pseudonym Minerva.
The charge stems from a Dec. 29 posting in which Mr. Park allegedly accused bureaucrats of writing a letter to local bankers to persuade them not to buy dollars so as to raise the value of the won. Prosecutors said Monday that news accounts of Mr. Park's anonymous posting had led to a plunge in the value of the won that forced the government to intervene in trading.
Mr. Park's allegations suggested bureaucrats were trying to undercut the government's measures to help banks obtain U.S. dollars.
The arrest of Mr. Park highlights two facets of Seoul's response to the economic crisis that worry analysts: a currency policy that isn't transparent enough for traders and an intolerance of criticism of public policy.
Currency traders keep close watch for changes in the government's stance because the won is thinly traded, giving the government outsized influence. The government signaled early last year it no longer supported a strong won, beginning the most recent shift in trading sentiment.
In 2008, the won reversed three years of steady gains with a 26% decline in value versus the dollar, the chief currency against which it is traded. That decline is one of the most visible effects of the global crisis in South Korea.
Meanwhile, since the debt crisis turned global in September, officials have lashed out at economists and journalists who negatively portray South Korea's economic prospects or policy measures. And regulators last month announced an investigation of foreign stock analysts who placed "sell" ratings on South Korean stocks. The arrest of Mr. Park appears to represent this new level of sensitivity to criticism about the economy.
—SungHa Park contributed to this article.
Write to Evan Ramstad at evan.ramstad@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplification
The Korea Securities Dealers Association, an industry trade group, is investigating stock ratings issued by foreign brokerages on Korean companies last year. This article incorrectly says that government regulators were conducting the investigation.
By EVAN RAMSTAD
(See Correction & Amplification below.)
SEOUL -- South Korean officials arrested a blogger who for months had been criticizing the government's economic policy, charging him with spreading false rumors that led to a drop in the country's currency.
AFP
Park Dae-sung, following his court appearance in Seoul over the weekend.
Prosecutors identified Park Dae-sung, who is unemployed, as the widely read blogger writing under the pseudonym Minerva.
The charge stems from a Dec. 29 posting in which Mr. Park allegedly accused bureaucrats of writing a letter to local bankers to persuade them not to buy dollars so as to raise the value of the won. Prosecutors said Monday that news accounts of Mr. Park's anonymous posting had led to a plunge in the value of the won that forced the government to intervene in trading.
Mr. Park's allegations suggested bureaucrats were trying to undercut the government's measures to help banks obtain U.S. dollars.
The arrest of Mr. Park highlights two facets of Seoul's response to the economic crisis that worry analysts: a currency policy that isn't transparent enough for traders and an intolerance of criticism of public policy.
Currency traders keep close watch for changes in the government's stance because the won is thinly traded, giving the government outsized influence. The government signaled early last year it no longer supported a strong won, beginning the most recent shift in trading sentiment.
In 2008, the won reversed three years of steady gains with a 26% decline in value versus the dollar, the chief currency against which it is traded. That decline is one of the most visible effects of the global crisis in South Korea.
Meanwhile, since the debt crisis turned global in September, officials have lashed out at economists and journalists who negatively portray South Korea's economic prospects or policy measures. And regulators last month announced an investigation of foreign stock analysts who placed "sell" ratings on South Korean stocks. The arrest of Mr. Park appears to represent this new level of sensitivity to criticism about the economy.
—SungHa Park contributed to this article.
Write to Evan Ramstad at evan.ramstad@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplification
The Korea Securities Dealers Association, an industry trade group, is investigating stock ratings issued by foreign brokerages on Korean companies last year. This article incorrectly says that government regulators were conducting the investigation.
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