I was reading some articles online published by the "National Archives" journal and was surprised that George B. Cortelyou, who was a shorthand teacher in NYC before the Chairman of the Republican Party and holding three Cabinet posts under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt (made 5 cent loaf a dime) and last Postmaster General before becoming a CEO of the nascent Con Edison) is cited as the first "White House Press Secretary". He invited the press in to give them news on McKinley and the Spanish American War. Strangely left out of the article was the first woman to hold that position, for three years, Dee Dee Myers in the Clinton Administration.
Another NYC government executive who also has withheld records wanted by historians, is Rudy Giuliani. The records he claims he stored for his book. He also refused the state comptroller access to the city financial records while in office, saying that was "political" as the comptroller was going to run for governor. I recall this President Bush's EO which began a long salvo of them at anything, it seems, done in the Clinton administration. My favorite was Nixon's moratorium on chemical and biological weapons and order to become less dependent on foreign oil.
Source: Historians Fight White House For Access To Presidential Papers The Huffington Post
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