Archivist Says He Did No Wrong on Bush Records

U.S. Archivist Don W. Wilson, whose office turned over White House computer records to then-President George Bush while Wilson was negotiating to run Bush’s presidential library, denied any wrongdoing in the matter Wednesday.

Three senators, John Glenn (D-Ohio), David Pryor (D-Ark.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), this week urged the Justice Department to investigate Wilson’s actions.

Wilson announced last Friday that he was resigning effective March 31 to become executive director of the George Bush Presidential Library Center at Texas A&M; University in College Station.

Under federal law, it is a felony for an officer of the U.S. government to decide matters relating to “any person or organization with whom he is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment.”

In a statement issued Wednesday through Texas A&M;, Wilson said he played no part in drawing up the agreement by which 5,000 computer tapes were signed over to Bush.

“I state categorically that I had no conversation with former President Bush, or anyone outside the National Archives, regarding any actions that I took or the agreements that were signed in my position as archivist of the United States,” he said.

The White House had planned to destroy the tapes signed over by Wilson on Jan. 19. A private research center, the National Security Archive, intervened and won a court order to block the move.