AP article made false assertion about Clinton documents in discussion of Clinton, Giuliani "secrecy issues"

In a December 3 article, reporting that former New York City mayor "Rudy Giuliani [R] and [Sen.] Hillary Rodham Clinton [D-NY] have secrecy issues dogging them," Associated Press reporter Liz Sidoti falsely claimed that "[i]n a 2002 letter, [former President Bill Clinton] wrote he did not want the agency [the National Archives] to release communications between the first lady and him for 12 years after leaving office." In fact, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted (here, here, and here), in his letter Bill Clinton did not ask the Archives not to release communications between him and the first lady. Rather, he requested that "information should generally be considered for withholding [emphasis added] only if it contains" records in at least one of several categories, including "communications directly between the President and the First Lady, and their families, unless routine in nature."

As Media Matters has also noted, in a November 2 statement, reprinted on the Daily Kos blog, William J. Clinton Records representative Bruce Lindsey said that rather than prohibiting the release of communications between Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton had merely designated such communications as part of a "subset" of presidential records "that should be reviewed prior to release."

Sidoti made the assertion about "secrecy issues dogging" both Giuliani and Clinton, despite acknowledging that "[a] direct comparison between the Giuliani and Clinton situations is difficult."

With respect to Giuliani, Sidoti reported:

For the Republican former New York mayor, the primary issue is Giuliani Partners, the consulting business he formed when he left City Hall. He still works for the firm but won't shed light on its business dealings or release a client list. He's not required to; the company is privately held.

"It isn't mysterious at all," Giuliani insists, arguing that the media has identified clients.

He's also battling -- and dismissing -- suggestions that security expenses for extramarital liaisons with current wife Judith Nathan were hidden in little-known city accounts. And, he is facing criticism for the handling of his mayoral records.

A November 28 Politico article reported that "[a]s New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan."

From Sidoti's December 3 AP article:

Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Rodham Clinton have secrecy issues dogging them. The front-runners in national polls for their parties' nominations both are grappling with disclosure controversies as they seek to succeed President Bush, known as one of the most secretive chief executives in modern history.

For the Republican former New York mayor, the primary issue is Giuliani Partners, the consulting business he formed when he left City Hall. He still works for the firm but won't shed light on its business dealings or release a client list. He's not required to; the company is privately held.

"It isn't mysterious at all," Giuliani insists, arguing that the media has identified clients.

He's also battling -- and dismissing -- suggestions that security expenses for extramarital liaisons with current wife Judith Nathan were hidden in little-known city accounts. And, he is facing criticism for the handling of his mayoral records.

Clinton, the Democratic New York senator and former first lady, is taking heat over locked-away correspondence between President Clinton and her during their White House years. She often cites her experience in her campaign, and rivals argue she should expedite the opening of those records to allow her experience to be evaluated, particularly on health care policy.

She says the National Archives, which has custody of the records, "is moving as rapidly as the Archives moves." Her husband said last week: "I'm not trying to cover anything up."

A direct comparison between the Giuliani and Clinton situations is difficult.

[...]

Clinton, for her part, rejects charges that she's been secretive about her own documents. This month in Iowa, she said: "My husband has not withheld a single document."

But, like some of his predecessors, Bill Clinton had the power to limit what records the National Archives could immediately make public. In a 2002 letter, he wrote he did not want the agency to release communications between the first lady and him for 12 years after leaving office.

"We're not trying to hold up anything," he told C-SPAN last week. "We're getting this stuff out as soon as we can."