Thanks in part to a Judicial Watch lawsuit, more than 10,000 pages of Hillary Clinton’s records currently archived at the Clinton Presidential library may be eligible for public release as soon as this December. This most recent announcement is a sharp departure from earlier statements by archivists published just weeks ago by the Los Angeles Times suggesting that no documents would be eligible for release until after the 2008 election.

Clinton Library acting director Emily Robison recently told the New York Sun she believes archivists will complete the “review and redaction” phase of the processing for some of these documents by the end of the year. (Robison made a similar claim in a sworn declaration she made in Judicial Watch’s lawsuit filed against the National Archives. Robison stated “We estimate that it will take five to six months” to process the records. Read the full declaration here.)

Robison told the Sun the first documents to be processed will be Hillary Clinton’s calendar, the subject of Judicial Watch’s lawsuit:

“Ms. Robison said Mrs. Clinton's schedules were given priority in processing because they have been the subject of several Freedom of Information Act requests. A conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, has filed suit against the National Archives to demand release of the White House schedules and phone records pertaining to Mrs. Clinton.”

According to Robison’s August 6, 2007 sworn declaration, there are 30,000 pages of records related to Hillary’s calendar alone that may be responsive to JW’s request. Approximately 10,000 pages of these records (labeled “daily schedules” by the library) are expected to be processed first.

Of course, once the archives finishes its review, that’s when things get tricky. Representatives of Presidents Clinton and Bush will have ultimate say over what records are released and when. Clinton will have 90 days to decide. Bush will have an undetermined amount of time. Why?

You may recall that in November 2001 President Bush signed an executive order that virtually gutted the Presidential Records Act – a mandate that all presidential papers are the property of the U.S. government and must be released (with some exceptions) within 12 years of the end of a presidential term.

Under Executive Order 13223 signed by Bush, U.S. presidents, sitting and former, can veto the release of these presidential papers. In other words, an incumbent president, a former president — even the family of a deceased president — all have significant authority to withhold documents.

Knowing that representatives of Bill (and Hillary) Clinton will have ultimate decision-making authority over the release of Hillary’s records does not inspire confidence, to say the least. Still, Judicial Watch will fight for the release of as many records as possible, and get the Clintons on record with respect to the records they choose to withhold from the American people. Given legal and political pressure, we may get some of Hillary’s office documents sooner than some think.

Hillary Campaign Plays Tricks in Return of Money Associated with Criminal Democratic Fundraiser

Staying with Hillary Clinton for a moment, there are more developments in the Clinton campaign fundraising scandal.

Norman Hsu, the fugitive turned apparel entrepreneur turned Democratic fundraiser is finally in jail. However, not before leading authorities on a strange and sad wild goose chase.

On September 5, Hsu failed to show up to court in San Mateo County, California, (again) to face sentencing for a 1991 fraud charge. The next day, Hsu sent a suicide note to friends and charitable organizations before boarding an Amtrak train bound for Chicago. After failing to emerge from his economy class sleeper cabin, Amtrak employees forced open the door with a crow bar and found Hsu disoriented and “huddled in the fetal position” on the floor. One witness reported seeing a bunch of pills rolling around on the ground in the cabin.

Hsu was released Thursday from a hospital in Mesa County, Colorado, and participated in a court hearing that afternoon. A separate extradition hearing will follow.

Senator Clinton, meanwhile, says she will return a record $850,000 Hsu raised for her presidential campaign. But the Clinton gang can’t do anything straight. This according to The New York Times:

“The campaign is refunding $850,000 to these donors, viewing the money as tainted. Yet the campaign is also risking another public relations mess by saying that it would take back the money if it clearly came from the donor’s bank account, not from Mr. Hsu or another source. The risk is that Mrs. Clinton will appear to want more cash no matter whether it was once colored by a disgraced donor.”

And in a story entitled “Clinton May Revisit Donors Whose Funds Were Returned,” The Washington Post reports that Mrs. Clinton said “I believe that the vast majority of those 200-plus donors are perfectly capable of making up their own minds about what they will or won't do going forward." So Clinton is going to essentially “refund” Hsu-connected contributions and work to see that the money gets laundered back to her through tainted donors’ bank accounts? This is shameless and shows once again that Hillary has little concern for the law if gets in the way of cash for her quests for power.

Another big lie was also burst this week, that her campaign had no idea that Hsu was trouble. According the Los Angeles Times, the Clinton campaign was warned repeatedly that Hsu was allegedly involved in a Ponzi scheme. The LA Times reported the Clinton camp response to one of the warnings:

“I can tell you with 100 certainty that Norman Hsu is NOT involved in a Ponzi scheme,” wrote Samantha Wolf, who was a (Clinton) campaign finance director for the Western states. “He is COMPLETELY legit.”

Completely legit, 100% certain… Hsu now faces federal and state investigations into two more fraud schemes (in addition to the one he pled guilty to many years ago). I hope investigators ask Mrs. Clinton and her campaign exactly what they knew about Hsu’s scams (alleged and admitted) and when. To date, the Justice Department and other prosecutors have been afraid to confront the Clinton machine directly. The Hsu scandal is another opportunity to show the Clintons that they are not above the law.

Sweet Victory -- Herndon’s Illegal Day Labor Site is Dead

It took two years, but Judicial Watch was finally successful in helping to shut down Herndon’s day labor site for illegal aliens. September 14 was the last day of operation for the controversial site that prompted Judicial Watch to file a lawsuit on behalf of citizens of Herndon, who were outraged that their tax dollars were being used to subsidize illegal activity.

Here’s the statement I issued:

“We’re pleased the Town of Herndon has finally shut down this illegal day labor site. This is a tremendous victory for Judicial Watch, its supporters, and the citizens of Herndon, who believe sanctuary policies for illegal aliens violate the law and worsen the illegal immigration crisis. The rule of law is now affirmed in Herndon, Virginia.

“There is no question Herndon officials would not have made the decision to close the site if not for the pressure created by Judicial Watch’s lawsuit on behalf of local taxpayers, filed in the fall of 2005. Judicial Watch’s lawsuit helped galvanize public opposition to the Herndon illegal day labor site. As a result of the ensuing court battle and controversy, new political leadership was elected to run the Town of Herndon on the promise to shut down the site. Now that promise is fulfilled. It is the sweet victory of a mission accomplished for Judicial Watch’s legal team and its citizen clients in Herndon. Now politicians across America are on notice that they face lawsuits and other challenges if they use taxpayer dollars to help illegal aliens find illegal work in contravention of federal and other laws.”

Now, it’s on to Laguna Beach, California. Judicial Watch is preparing for an October 1 trial date in our legal campaign to shut down the Laguna Beach Day Workers Center, another taxpayer-funded day labor site that caters to illegal aliens. All this activity is part of Judicial Watch’s nationwide campaign to help enforce our nation’s illegal immigration laws. Click here to read more.

Tom Fitton is President of Judicial Watch, a nonpartisan educational foundation that fights government corruption. Visit www.judicialwatch.org for more information on Judicial Watch's legal campaigns and programs.