[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 180 (Monday, September 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 48722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23647]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION


Nixon Presidential Historical Materials: Opening of Materials

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration.

ACTION: Notice of opening of materials.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces the opening of certain Nixon 
Presidential historical materials from the White House Special Files 
that are commonly referred to as Nixon contested materials. Notice is 
hereby given that, in accordance with section 104 of the Presidential 
Recordings and Materials Preservation Act (``PRMPA'', 44 U.S.C. 2111 
note) and Sec. 1275.46(i) of the PRMPA Regulations implementing the Act 
(36 CFR part 1275), the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA) has completed its review, and proposes for public opening, 
certain materials whose public release was previously objected to by 
former President Nixon in 1987 in accordance with 36 CFR 1275.44.

DATES: NARA intends to make the materials from a file segment described 
in this notice available to the public beginning October 17, 1996. 
Because these are the final decisions of the Presidential Materials 
Review Board, in accordance with the PRMPA's Public Access Regulations, 
36 CFR 1275.46 (i)(3), further petitions asserting a constitutional 
right or privilege which would prevent or limit access cannot be 
submitted.

ADDRESSES: The materials will be made available to the public at NARA's 
facility located at 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl Weissenbach, Acting Director, 
Nixon Presidential Materials Staff, 301-713-6950.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As required by PRMPA and its public access 
regulations, NARA published a Federal Register notice on January 30, 
1987, announcing the public opening of approximately 628.3 cubic feet 
of the integral file segment identified as the White House Special 
Files. Under the PRMPA's public access regulations, former President 
Richard M. Nixon raised objections, some of which were joined in by 
other individuals, to the public release of approximately 42,000 
documents consisting of about 150,000 pages. In response to President 
Nixon's objection to the public release of these documents, NARA's 
Presidential Materials Review Board, as required by PRMPA's public 
access regulations, was tasked with the responsibility of deciding on 
the former President's objections. The Presidential Materials Review 
Board completed its decisionmaking on the contested materials, which 
culminated with this announcement of NARA's intent to open certain of 
the documents for public research, to sustain certain of the objections 
and return those documents as private or personal and to retain but 
restrict access to other documents. Details of the Board's decisions 
will be available at the opening.
    The materials from the White House Special Files that can be opened 
are to be released on October 17, 1996. The White House Special Files 
were segregated from the White House Central Files by the Nixon 
Administration in 1972 due to their uniqueness and/or sensitivity. The 
contested documents that NARA plans to release are primarily from the 
Staff Member and Office Files and selected Subject Files of the White 
House Central Files.

    Dated: September 11, 1996.
John W. Carlin,
Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 96-23647 Filed 9-13-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P