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Fact Check: Obama's State Senate Records Are Publicly Available

November 14, 2007

Read What Media Matters Had to Say: "The Associated Press reported that Sen. Barack Obama "says he can't step up and produce his own records from his days in the Illinois state Senate. He says he hasn't got any." But Obama did not claim that the documents do not exist. In fact, the article quoted Obama saying: "I don't have -- I don't maintain -- a file of eight years of work in the state Senate because I didn't have the resources available to maintain those kinds of records."


Illinois Capitol Fax Blog: "There's been an attempt recently to try to pivot on Barack Obama's statements about the Clinton archive records...it looks to me like this Obama thing is just another national non-issue"

RHETORIC: JUST DAYS AGO, OBAMA ACKNOWLEDGED HE HAD "REMAINING DOCUMENTS" AND ENCOURAGED REPORTERS TO MAKE SPECIFIC REQUESTS.

FACT: OBAMA HAS CONSISTENTLY SAID THAT HE DID NOT KEEP HIS ILLINOIS SENATE RECORDS AND DOES NOT SAY THAT HE HAD MORE RECORDS THAN WERE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE

Chicago Sun-Times: Obama "Did Not Keep" Records From His Time In The State Senate, Turned Over Casework To His Successor. The Chicago Sun-Times reported, "After White House hopeful Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, he turned over 'pertinent' files from his state Senate office to his successor and did not keep other office records. Senior strategist David Axelrod said Sunday night, 'Files pertinent to ongoing casework were passed to Kwame Raoul, his successor.'" [Chicago Sun-Times, 11/12/07]

Obama: "We Did Not Keep Those Records." "Tim, we did not keep those records." [NBC Meet the Press, Transcript, 11/11/07]

Obama Said He Had No Record Of His Meetings As A State Senator Because He Kept His Own Schedule. When asked whether there were available records his meetings with lobbyists during his State Senate days, Obama said, "I did not have a scheduler, but, as I said, every document related to my interactions with government is available right now. And, as I said, news outlets have already looked at them...I kept my own schedule. I didn't have a scheduler." [NBC Meet the Press, Transcript, 11/11/07]

Obama Said "I Do Not Have A Whole Bunch Of Records From Those Years...I Don't Maintain A File Of Eight Years Of Work." Obama was asked if his State Senate "papers" still existed. Obama said, "So we have a bunch of file cabinets. I do not have a whole bunch of records from those years. Now, if there are particular documents that you are interested in, then you should let us know. But I don't have, I don't maintain, a file of eight years of work in the State Senate because I didn't have the resources available to maintain those kinds of records." [Iowa Press Avail, 11/9/07]

RHETORIC: THE RECORDS "THE STATE CONSIDERS PUBLIC" ARE NOT "CURRENTLY AVAILABLE"

FACT: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS ARE FILED WITH THE STATE OF ILLINOIS; OBAMA HAS NO CONTROL OVER THAT INFORMATION AND VOTED TO ESTABLISH AN APPEALS PROCESS FOR DENIED REQUESTS

Freedom Of Information Requests Are Filed With The State Of Illinois; Obama As A Presidential Candidate And United States Senator Has No Control Over The Release Of Documents. Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.) states that "Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest." [5 ILCS 140/1 et seq]

FACT: CHICAGO TRIBUNE FOIA REQUEST FOR OBAMA'S MEMBER INITIATIVES WAS GRANTED, ANALYZED THE INFORMATION FOR AN ARTICLE ON OBAMA'S TIME IN THE STATE SENATE

Obama Said Every Single Piece Of Information And Every Document Related To His Work In State Government Has Been Kept By The State Of Illinois, Has Been Disclosed, And Is Available. When asked about the location of his Illinois State Senate Records, Obama said, "In the state senate, every single piece of information, every document related to state government was kept by the state of Illinois and has been disclosed and is available and has been gone through with a fine-toothed comb by news outlets in Illinois." [NBC, Meet the Press Transcript, 11/11/07]

The Chicago Tribune Analyzed 119 Obama-Sponsored "Member Initiatives" From His State Senate Days. "The Tribune analyzed 119 grants in which Obama steered more than $6 million for Chicago projects between late 1999 and late 2002, the heart of his Statehouse career and the center of a state government frenzy in which Obama said the pork-barrel process was 'wide open.'" [Chicago Tribune, 5/3/07]

FACT: OBAMA HAS MADE A HABIT OF DISCLOSING MORE THAN IS REQUIRED, INCLUDING HIS BUNDLERS, EARMARKS, TAX RETURNS AND LEGAL CLIENTS...

Obama Committed to Disclose the Names of Bundlers. In 2007, Obama committed to name people who bundle campaign contributions. [Los Angeles Times, 2/9/07]

Obama Went One Step Further Than Other Candidates, Disclosed The Amount Of Money That His Bundlers Were Raising. "Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Tuesday disclosed the amounts his very top fund-raisers -- called bundlers -- are pulling in for his presidential campaign...Obama is disclosing more information than chief rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is willing to reveal about the amounts her top players are raising." [Chicago Sun-Times, 11/14/07]

Public Citizen: Obama's Bundling List "Would Rank The Best." "In terms of just breaking out the amounts raised by superbundlers, compared with the other candidates, Obama's list 'would rank the best,' said Taylor Lincoln, research director for Public Citizen, a watchdog group tracking big dollar campaign fund-raising." [Chicago Sun-Times, 11/14/07]

Obama Was the Only Presidential Candidate to Release His Income Tax Returns. The AP reported, "In addition to filing financial disclosures, another common practice in presidential campaigns is the release of income tax returns. But so far this year, only Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has released his 2006 tax returns." [AP, 5/15/07]

Obama Reported All Clients On PFD, Providing More Disclosure Than Required. In 1998, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on lawmakers who did not disclose their firms' client. The Sun-Times wrote, "The state form does not require that information, and he refused to provide it to the center, citing attorney-client privilege. Other attorney-lawmakers, such as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Chicago), reported a full list of clients. 'My assumption is whenever there is a potential conflict of interest, my constituents have a right to know,' Obama told the Sun-Times." [Chicago Sun-Times, 3/29/98]

2007: Obama Disclosed His Earmark Requests. On June 21, 2007, Obama disclosed the earmark projects that he had requested for fiscal year 2008. [Obama Release, 6/21/07]

Chicago Sun-Times: Applaud Obama And Others For "The Courage To Disclose Every Earmark Request." The Chicago Sun-Times wrote in an editorial, "As valuable as it has already been to see the earmarks and their sponsors at the subcommittee stage, it's even more valuable to see the requests from members before they even make it that far. That's why we applaud Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, Democratic Rep. Rahm Emanuel and GOP Representatives Peter Roskam, Judy Biggert and Mark Kirk for having the courage to disclose every earmark request, whether successful or not. The sooner the public can start scrutinizing the earmarks -- which are, after all, demands for taxpayers to fund specific projects -- the sooner it can start separating the wheat from the chaff. We encourage every member of Congress to do the same. The more glare, the more scrutiny, the better the process will work." [Chicago Sun-Times, 6/27/07]

...AND WOULD BE THE DEMOCRAT MOST COMMITED TO TRANSPARENCY

Reason Foundation: Obama The Only Democrat Who Signed The Oath Of Presidential Transparency. The Reason Foundation wrote, "Meet the only three would-be chief execs who will dare to tell you how the government spends your money...The Oath of Presidential Transparency, a project spearheaded by the Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes the print and online editions of reason. Joining together three dozen diverse groups ranging from the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to the voter-rights outfit Velvet Revolution, the Oath provides voters with a crystal-clear understanding of the candidates' priorities when it comes to government spending...'Every American has the right to know how the government spends their tax dollars, but for too long that information has been largely hidden from public view,' says Sen. Obama, whose role in creating FFAT can't be overstated. 'This historic law will lift the veil of secrecy in Washington and ensure that our government is transparent and accountable to the American people. And I will be proud to fully implement and enforce this law as president.'" [Reason Foundation, 8/24/07]

Sunlight Foundation: Obama Was A Leader On Government Transparency, Willingness To Talk About The Issue Demonstrated Commitment. Ellen Miller wrote on her Sunlight Foundation blog, "Given the fact that Obama is a leader on government transparency issues in the Senate now, his willingness to talk about these issues demonstrates his commitment to them and his understanding that the public strongly favors more transparency by the government." [Ellen Miller, Sunlight Foundation, 6/26/07]

Public Citizen: Obama Would Be The Most Active Advocate For Good Government. TPM Election Central reported, "Craig Holman, the ethics lobbyist for Public Citizen, tells us the group endorses all the principles in Obama's speech. 'These are all things we've been advocating for several years now,' he says. 'Obama has been working on many of these reforms for the last year.' Asked if this meant Obama was really better than the other Dems on good-government issues, Holman said: 'Certainly in terms of his active roles. I would expect many of the Democratic candidates to endorse similar proposals. But Senator Obama has been actively working on these since even before he considered running for President.'" [TPM Election Central, 6/22/07]

RHETORIC: PRESIDENT CLINTON'S REPRESENTATIVE HAS CLEARED FOR RELEASE OVER 22,000 OF THE APPROXIMATELY 26,000 PAGES THAT HAD BEEN PENDING BEFORE HIM.

FACT: 26,000 RECORDS CLEARED BY THE ARCHIVES FOR RELEASE ARE BEING HELD FOR REVIEW BY PRESIDENT'S REPRESENTATIVE

Clinton Is Being "Disingenuous And Omitting Facts" In The Saying That Her And Her Husband Have Nothing To Do With The Release Of Their Presidential Records. The Clintons are "being disingenuous and facts that are inconvenient" when discussing the Clinton Library records, "taking advantage of a clause in a November 2001 Bush order that permits former presidents to take virtually as much time as they want to review FOIA requests. According to National Archives officials, 26,000 pages of Clinton presidential records are being held for release after being submitted to Clinton lawyer Bruce Lindsey for review. The records have been screened and processed by Archives officials under FOIA, but they cannot be released to the public until Lindsey, as President Clinton's designated representative, signs off on them. Lindsey did not respond to telephone calls." [Washington Post, 11/1/07]