6 ms·

DOJ wants to scrap Watergate-era rule that makes presidential records public

264 points by tlhunter 6mo ago

tlhunter 6mo ago
https://archive.is/jHfOe https://archive.is/jHfOe
- nickvec 6mo ago
  Crazy that you can't even read an article anymore without having to cough up money and/or provide your personal data.
  - afiori 6mo ago
    yes, with a but, rephrased as "crazy that you can't use a private service without payment or otherwise contributing to its profitability" sounds less so crazy. I agree on the excess.
    - avidiax 6mo ago
      Publishers really need to get on board with a fair pay as you go scheme. Something where I pay a fair price for an article or subscription, without the new customer rates, and without the "call us" retention annoyances. Something like the old Netflix, where it covers 80% of what you want at a reasonable monthly fee with easy cancellation. I wouldn't mind supporting good journalism, but I do mind having a teaser rate that will jump 5x after a year, making it difficult to cancel (call to cancel), and having 1 pay gate per news outlet.
josefritzishere 6mo ago
That sounds like someone wants to hide the evidence.
- lokar 6mo ago
  As weird as it seems (to me anyway) there has always been a group of conservative republicans who maintain that Nixon did nothing wrong and all of the restrictions on the president passed then are inappropriate.
  - sixothree 6mo ago
    Of course they didn't want us to see that evidence for ourselves, or have any hearings whatsoever.
  - cogman10 6mo ago
    One of them, Roger Stone, worked on the trump campaign and has a Nixon tattoo on his back.
    - hypeatei 6mo ago
      Also: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/roger-stone-found-guilty-obstruction-false-statements-and-witness-tampering https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/roger-stone-found-guilty-... > Stone was found guilty of obstruction of a congressional investigation, five counts of making false statements to Congress, and tampering with a witness
      - dylan604 6mo ago
        And then pardoned by Trump
        salawat 6mo ago
        ...Were those judiciary findings or legislative? I don't actually think that the President can Pardon someone incarcerated by the Legislature. Maybe the solution to all this mess is for Congress to finally flex the Sergeant-at-Arms position. While there is a delegation to the Department of Justice for efficiency sake, there technically isn't anything preventing the Legislature from doing it's own footwork.
LightBug1 6mo ago
Step'ity step towards a fascist state for the klep'ity klep ...
coldcode 6mo ago
It's not a rule, it's a law passed by Congress and signed by the President in 1978. You can't just ignore it.
- lisper 6mo ago
  Want to bet?
- tombert 6mo ago
  It does not appear that this administration particularly cares about whether or not they're allowed to ignore laws.
  - EGreg 6mo ago
    That's because everyone else is the enemies of the people! They have a mandate! Get out of the way, so-called judges, RINOs and communists in Congress, the failing Media, and also the low IQ former MAGA people who helped get them elected. This was a landslide! Also, true republicans don't believe in mob rule, we don't have a democracy, we have a republic. Except if our guy wins by 1% then we totally believe in mob rule and have a mandate, compared to that 1% marginal win, what are laws passed by a supermajority? A mere trifle!
  - garyfirestorm 6mo ago
    ‘Let the law not get in our way’
  - jauntywundrkind 6mo ago
    It appears the administration is working with the Federalist Society extremists to try to destroy the government as best it can, at least in all capacities not befitting the monopolization of suppression/silencing/violence against anyone it doesnt like.
  - BuckRogers 6mo ago
    [flagged]
    - 6mo ago
ceejayoz 6mo ago
Fine. I wanna scrap the pardon power. Trade? https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-promises-mass-pardons-to-staff-before-leaving-office-d7274d32 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-promises-mass-pard...
- afiori 6mo ago
  Pardon power competes with governors (at least NY) being able to edit laws before signing them for most anachronistic/dystopian feature of the US state.
  - ceejayoz 6mo ago
    You've reminded me of an absolutely bizzare line item veto story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-item_veto_in_the_United_States#Wisconsin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-item_veto_in_the_United_S... > In 2023, Governor Tony Evers used a line-item veto to extend what was supposed to be a two year temporary funding increase for schools to last over 400 years. https://www.businessinsider.com/wisconsin-tony-evers-400-years-education-funding-line-item-veto-2023-7 https://www.businessinsider.com/wisconsin-tony-evers-400-yea... > Evers was able to make the nearly 400-year-old addition by vetoing part of a phrase that had referred to the 2024-25 school year, by striking a hyphen and the "20." When read together, the legislature's previous proposals for the 2023-24 and the 2024-25 school years became 2023-2425. The WI Supreme Court upheld it. What a fucked-up system. In picture form: https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24773635/bb7f4151_0ffc_4c66_afff_582b7ee6a60c_2023_Wisconsin_Act_19_158_1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100 https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/u...
jauntywundrkind 6mo ago
These are dark days, perhaps the darkest for America. Perhaps the only time that somehow we didn't squeak out a win, the only time the insurrectionist rabble propogandized their cause for destruction of America, found the leverage points of lawfare, mediafare, an impotent Congress, and political lapdog Supreme Court with Federalist Society biases against any checks and balances at all, that all these factors aligned to allow complete vandalizing from within. A piracy & rampaging, a campaign of spite from conquerors wishing to salt the earth of that they have claimed. It so unsurprising that these dark days would have an administration that argued it owes nothing to the American people, nothing to history. That they would want to hide their filthy destruction. Back in 2018, Trump used to go around violating the law with his bare hands, ripping up documents that displeased him. Pitiful staffers were assigned to go tape the documents back together, in some sign of respect to the law & history. https://boingboing.net/2018/06/11/presidential-records-act.html/amp https://boingboing.net/2018/06/11/presidential-records-act.h... I strongly dislike the "everyone is 12" or everyone is 15 tale being told now, that there are no adults. There are adults. They are all just wicked evil people working against America, are the pardoned insurrectionists and much much worse, with far more focused reign to do what Reagan and the Powell memorandum and Project 2025 (which is but a recent update to a long running document begat from the Powell Memorandum) set out to do: to unmake America, to bypass all checks, to dynamite the nation from the inside out. Heck yes they want to make sure no one sees them TNT'ing the Union.
Incipient 6mo ago
It's just 4 years...but I'm genuinely thinking you lot aren't going to survive it. Seeing what is happening from both sides, as well as 'independents' (the NY chap). I feel your society is just cooked. I am genuinely starting to believe it's irreparable to the extent it has progressed.
- pjmlp 6mo ago
  People still think that this administration will play fair the next elections.
xtiansimon 6mo ago
Not his house. Not his records. Get on board or get the bum out!

264 points by tlhunter 6mo ago

tlhunter 6mo ago

https://archive.is/jHfOe https://archive.is/jHfOe

nickvec 6mo ago
Crazy that you can't even read an article anymore without having to cough up money and/or provide your personal data.
- afiori 6mo ago
  yes, with a but, rephrased as "crazy that you can't use a private service without payment or otherwise contributing to its profitability" sounds less so crazy. I agree on the excess.
  - avidiax 6mo ago
    Publishers really need to get on board with a fair pay as you go scheme. Something where I pay a fair price for an article or subscription, without the new customer rates, and without the "call us" retention annoyances. Something like the old Netflix, where it covers 80% of what you want at a reasonable monthly fee with easy cancellation. I wouldn't mind supporting good journalism, but I do mind having a teaser rate that will jump 5x after a year, making it difficult to cancel (call to cancel), and having 1 pay gate per news outlet.

josefritzishere 6mo ago

That sounds like someone wants to hide the evidence.

lokar 6mo ago
As weird as it seems (to me anyway) there has always been a group of conservative republicans who maintain that Nixon did nothing wrong and all of the restrictions on the president passed then are inappropriate.
- sixothree 6mo ago
  Of course they didn't want us to see that evidence for ourselves, or have any hearings whatsoever.
- cogman10 6mo ago
  One of them, Roger Stone, worked on the trump campaign and has a Nixon tattoo on his back.
  - hypeatei 6mo ago
    Also: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/roger-stone-found-guilty-obstruction-false-statements-and-witness-tampering https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/roger-stone-found-guilty-... > Stone was found guilty of obstruction of a congressional investigation, five counts of making false statements to Congress, and tampering with a witness
    - dylan604 6mo ago
      And then pardoned by Trump
      - salawat 6mo ago
        ...Were those judiciary findings or legislative? I don't actually think that the President can Pardon someone incarcerated by the Legislature. Maybe the solution to all this mess is for Congress to finally flex the Sergeant-at-Arms position. While there is a delegation to the Department of Justice for efficiency sake, there technically isn't anything preventing the Legislature from doing it's own footwork.

LightBug1 6mo ago

Step'ity step towards a fascist state for the klep'ity klep ...

coldcode 6mo ago

It's not a rule, it's a law passed by Congress and signed by the President in 1978. You can't just ignore it.

lisper 6mo ago
Want to bet?
tombert 6mo ago
It does not appear that this administration particularly cares about whether or not they're allowed to ignore laws.
- EGreg 6mo ago
  That's because everyone else is the enemies of the people! They have a mandate! Get out of the way, so-called judges, RINOs and communists in Congress, the failing Media, and also the low IQ former MAGA people who helped get them elected. This was a landslide! Also, true republicans don't believe in mob rule, we don't have a democracy, we have a republic. Except if our guy wins by 1% then we totally believe in mob rule and have a mandate, compared to that 1% marginal win, what are laws passed by a supermajority? A mere trifle!
- garyfirestorm 6mo ago
  ‘Let the law not get in our way’
- jauntywundrkind 6mo ago
  It appears the administration is working with the Federalist Society extremists to try to destroy the government as best it can, at least in all capacities not befitting the monopolization of suppression/silencing/violence against anyone it doesnt like.
- BuckRogers 6mo ago
  [flagged]
  - 6mo ago

ceejayoz 6mo ago

Fine. I wanna scrap the pardon power. Trade? https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-promises-mass-pardons-to-staff-before-leaving-office-d7274d32 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-promises-mass-pard...

afiori 6mo ago
Pardon power competes with governors (at least NY) being able to edit laws before signing them for most anachronistic/dystopian feature of the US state.
- ceejayoz 6mo ago
  You've reminded me of an absolutely bizzare line item veto story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-item_veto_in_the_United_States#Wisconsin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-item_veto_in_the_United_S... > In 2023, Governor Tony Evers used a line-item veto to extend what was supposed to be a two year temporary funding increase for schools to last over 400 years. https://www.businessinsider.com/wisconsin-tony-evers-400-years-education-funding-line-item-veto-2023-7 https://www.businessinsider.com/wisconsin-tony-evers-400-yea... > Evers was able to make the nearly 400-year-old addition by vetoing part of a phrase that had referred to the 2024-25 school year, by striking a hyphen and the "20." When read together, the legislature's previous proposals for the 2023-24 and the 2024-25 school years became 2023-2425. The WI Supreme Court upheld it. What a fucked-up system. In picture form: https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24773635/bb7f4151_0ffc_4c66_afff_582b7ee6a60c_2023_Wisconsin_Act_19_158_1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100 https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/u...

jauntywundrkind 6mo ago

These are dark days, perhaps the darkest for America. Perhaps the only time that somehow we didn't squeak out a win, the only time the insurrectionist rabble propogandized their cause for destruction of America, found the leverage points of lawfare, mediafare, an impotent Congress, and political lapdog Supreme Court with Federalist Society biases against any checks and balances at all, that all these factors aligned to allow complete vandalizing from within. A piracy & rampaging, a campaign of spite from conquerors wishing to salt the earth of that they have claimed. It so unsurprising that these dark days would have an administration that argued it owes nothing to the American people, nothing to history. That they would want to hide their filthy destruction. Back in 2018, Trump used to go around violating the law with his bare hands, ripping up documents that displeased him. Pitiful staffers were assigned to go tape the documents back together, in some sign of respect to the law & history. https://boingboing.net/2018/06/11/presidential-records-act.html/amp https://boingboing.net/2018/06/11/presidential-records-act.h... I strongly dislike the "everyone is 12" or everyone is 15 tale being told now, that there are no adults. There are adults. They are all just wicked evil people working against America, are the pardoned insurrectionists and much much worse, with far more focused reign to do what Reagan and the Powell memorandum and Project 2025 (which is but a recent update to a long running document begat from the Powell Memorandum) set out to do: to unmake America, to bypass all checks, to dynamite the nation from the inside out. Heck yes they want to make sure no one sees them TNT'ing the Union.

Incipient 6mo ago

It's just 4 years...but I'm genuinely thinking you lot aren't going to survive it. Seeing what is happening from both sides, as well as 'independents' (the NY chap). I feel your society is just cooked. I am genuinely starting to believe it's irreparable to the extent it has progressed.

pjmlp 6mo ago
People still think that this administration will play fair the next elections.

xtiansimon 6mo ago

Not his house. Not his records. Get on board or get the bum out!