The Columbia Spectator reports that two Columbia University professors, AHA members Timothy Naftali and Matthew Connelly, submitted declarations in support of the AHA’s lawsuit, joined by American Oversight, over the Office of Legal Counsel’s memorandum declaring the Presidential Records Act (PRA) unconstitutional.
“Much of my professional career would not have been possible without presidential records,” Naftali wrote. “They have fueled a lot of my scholarship, informed my teaching, and been a focal point of my work in government.”
Connelly wrote that weakening the PRA would make it significantly harder for historians and the public to hold presidents accountable. “The costs of that loss—diminished public confidence in political institutions, the proliferation of conspiracy theories, and the deepening inability of citizens to evaluate or even understand critical policy choices—are incalculable.”