White House in Hot Water Over Tapes

WASHINGTON — The Clinton White House and the acting archivist of the United States were held in civil contempt on Friday for failing to protect and preserve computer records made in the George Bush and Ronald Reagan administrations.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Richey promised stiff fines starting on June 21 unless the Clinton Administration takes immediate action to preserve deteriorating tapes, repair those that have been damaged and issue new guidelines to protect them.

It “is clear that by failing to preserve these tapes, the defendants are failing to preserve history and the lessons to be learned from it,” Richey said, vowing fines of $50,000 a day the first week, $100,000 a day the second week, and $200,000 a day the third week.

The litigation was initially directed against Reagan and Bush officials and archivists, but it is a continuing dispute that imposes obligations on whatever Administration is in office. Richey said Friday that the Clinton White House and its new acting archivist have failed to meet those obligations for four months now.

The judge said that some tapes had been found damaged after they were transferred to the archives on Jan. 19-20, and as many as 300 more must be copied immediately before they deteriorate further.

The tapes were transferred to the archives under a controversial agreement giving Bush exclusive legal control of the “presidential” records on them. But depositions in the lawsuit show that the archives does not have the equipment to make copies on short order.