Last Friday President Obama authorized the release of over 250,000 pages of previously sealed presidential records.  The bulk of the documents are from the Reagan administration, and include presidential briefing papers, speechwriting research materials, and declassified foreign policy memoranda.  In a similar vein, eight-hundred pages of records regarding Sauid Arabia that were produced by the George H. W. Bush administration will also be released.

The National Archives and Records Administration was informed Friday that the Obama administration had completed a review of the documents, and that they were permitted to release them Monday.  They are currently available for viewing at the respective presidential libraries.  These historical records were previously withheld pending a page by page review by the George W. Bush administration, a review that lasted eight years with no resolution.

President Obama's willingness to release his predecessors' papers has been a marked change from previous administrations.  One of Obama's first official acts as president was to sign Executive Order 13489, which overturned the Bush administration's Executive Order allowing current and past presidents and vice-presidents to withhold any portion of their records.  Under the current order, only the incumbent president has authority to wihhold the records of his predecessors, with the consultation of his Counsel and the Attorney General.

The records included in this relase are not expected to be controversial.  Representatives of both the late President Reagan and President Bush (41) endorsed the decision.  However, more vehement opposition from former presidents and their families could occur in the future concerning more contentious documents, such as those regarding the Iran-Contra scandal or any number of documents from the most recent administration.  It remains to be seen how far this impetus towards disclosure of presidential records goes.  But this is an encouraging first step.