Hillary Clinton promised in 2004 the Clinton Presidential Library's records would be open and available "earlier than legally required," BuzzFeed's Andrew Kaczynski reports.
The records remain off limits and the legal rationale for withholding the documents expired last year, according to Kaczynski.
Mike Allen of Politico said earlier today the 8,000 withheld documents are "the most sensitive communications" from the Clinton administration.
The former first lady, speaking in a 2004 interview with CNN's Larry King, described the newly unveiled Clinton Presidential Library as a place of "openness" where "everything's going to be available":
LARRY KING: Well, make a call as I said. Do you think the impeachment thing was handled tastefully and well?
HILLARY CLINTON: I do. I do. I’ve told everyone that the history was going to be full and accurate. Nothing’s left out. Obviously, not everything can be shown. But there’s going to be access to all of the documents. In fact, Bill is going to be making his documents accessible even earlier than legally required.
KING: He is?
CLINTON: He is. Because he really thinks it’s important. That’s one of the things the library really stands for. It physically stands for openness with all the glass and the light. But he wants it to be a place where people come and really study. And everything’s going to be available.
The Clinton couple's political past has come under increased scrutiny recently in light of new revelations contained in journals kept by Hillary Clinton confidante Diane Blair, first reported by Alana Goodman of The Washington Free Beacon.
Goodman extended her investigation to records from Bill Clinton's terms as Governor of Arkansas, learning they are restricted at a public library in Little Rock.
The papers are only available for access with the permission of Clinton Foundation Board Chairman Bruce Lindsey.
Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato said the tight restrictions suggest that "the Clinton forces believe problems would result from their publication."