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The Clinton Library released its fifth batch of previously redacted documents on Friday, dumping 2,000 pages of new information on topics ranging from the administration's stance on gays in the military to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s attempt as First Lady to enact health care reform.
There's a lot here, on a wide variety of subjects. But here are a few early highlights from the latest batch:
Gays in the Military
The library released several pages of documents centering around the case of Keith Meinhold, who successfully sued the Department of Defense after being discharged from the Navy following his public coming out on a national news program. One of those documents: a handwritten note discussing whether Meinhold could be reintroduced to duty on a submarine. The note, from someone at the National Security Council, calls his reintroduction a "terrible idea." Although some of the note is covered up by what appears to be a post-it correcting Meinhold's name, the reasons listed have something to do with advocacy for the "gay cause." it ends:
Hillary Clinton's Health Care Reform Attempts
The documents on Clinton's ultimately failed attempts to push through health care reform are available here and here. In one memo, Ira Magaziner (who lead the task force with Hillary Clinton to reform the country's healthcare system) explains his attempts to salvage the task force's work — it would later disband without making the recommendations it was created to produce:
Oprah Winfrey
The "Oprah" file from today's release contains just a single email, which seems to raise concerns about whether Clinton should be using his influence, essentially, to network for his friends:
The Oklahoma City Bombings
One of the more interesting documents released today is a transcript of former President Clinton discussing a State of the Union Address with his aides and the Vice President. In it, there's some back and forth on how to mention the recent bombings:
SCOTUS Nominations of Justices Ginsburg and Breyer
The latest documents contain notes from the confirmation processes of two current Supreme Court Justices. There's Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom the administration felt was going to face a lot of questions about social issues, particularly abortion, gender and the ACLU in general:
And for Breyer's confirmation, the documents discuss potential op-ed writers in the lead-up to the hearings:
There's a lot more, available at the Clinton Library site.
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