The Nixon Papers

Reports circulated recently that Congress is considering a proposal to give former President Richard M. Nixon's Yorba Linda museum possession of his presidential materials, including some 46 million pages, hundreds of video tapes, and the unique cache of 4000 hours of taped conversations. Such legislation could close off public access, and allow for the destruction of millions of valuable, still-unprocessed, primary sources. (Emphasis mine.)

After Nixon resigned in August 1974, the Ford Administration acknowledged his ownership of the materials -- including the right to destroy them. Congress objected, however, and passed the Presidential Recordings and Materials Act in 1974, taking control of the materials, insuring their deposit in the Washington area, and providing that the records be opened and made available to the public.

Nice try Gerry.

During his lifetime, Nixon successfully resisted various efforts to implement the law. He devised a maze of delaying tactics, and even secured the cooperation of the National Archives to keep the tapes sealed. When the Archives was sued to force compliance with the law, Nixon intervened. His death in 1994 seemingly ended the matter, as his family and estate no longer could afford the expense of further challenges. The lawsuit was settled, with the tapes opened, access secured, and matters of ownership, possession, and control finally resolved. Or so we thought.

...Several years ago, the Nixon Foundation received $18 million as a payment for the government's alleged "taking" of the Nixon Papers. That was a questionable concession -- one largely arranged in a manner similar to the present undertaking. But all agree that the $18 million was a form of compensation for the papers. Now, the Nixon people want control of the papers. Can we at least have the $18 million paid back to the government?

A quarter century ago, during one of President Nixon's periodic battles to gain control of his presidential papers and tapes, the Supreme Court rejected his claim. Justice John Paul Stevens noted that after three years it already was clear that the President had proven to be an "unreliable custodian" of his papers. Nothing has changed.
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Well, except that he's dead.

$18 million dollars we paid for these things? Jumped-up-Jesus. It seems to me that everything the president writes or collects while serving as president, except for unequivocally personal matters - those that have no connection whatsoever to government business and have been funded from the president's own private pocket - should automatically belong to the public.

And it might be a lot more efficient in the long run just to behave in the way you want history to record you.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.