The AHA is joining Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Stanley Kutler, Martin Sherwin, the Organization of American Historians, and the Society of American Archivists, in a lawsuit seeking to force the office of the vice president to preserve the records of his office through the coming transition in administrations.

As you probably know, the vice president has made various claims, most notably the argument that he is not part of the executive branch, to insist that he is not subject to the Presidential Records Act (PRA). Fearing that he will take records created during his term in office as personal papers, this lawsuit will seek a ruling that the vice president is subject to the PRA, and order the vice president and the National Archives to comply with the statutes.

For more information see this page, which includes links to related documents to the case, on the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics web site. Also, see the Washington Post article “Lawsuit to Ask That Cheney’s Papers Be Made Public.”

This post first appeared on AHA Today.