Dean Wanted Records Sealed for Quarter Century

Whatever it is that Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean is trying to keep from the American public, the secret must be a beaut.

It turns out that the Vermont Democrat - who ordered his state records sealed for 10 years when he left the state's governorship earlier this year - initially wanted the telltale documents kept under lock and key till 2026 - just one year short of a quarter century.

In memos made public by the Burlington Free Press on Wednesday, Vermont's state archivist Gregory Sanford revealed Dean's bizarre request to keep the electorate in the dark about his records for 24 years.

On Sept. 3, 2002, Sanford wrote to his boss, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz: "Governor leans toward 24 years. My immediate response to [Dean's legal counsel] was that presidents can only close their records for 12 years, plus the state cannot afford to fill space with records no one can review for a quarter century."

Dean's two immediate predecessors had sealed their records for just six years. But the top candidate's lawyer, David Rocchio, said his client was justified in trying to seal his records for a period four times as long - and even maintained the decision wasn't driven by Dean's presidential ambitions.

"This was about protecting the frank and timely exchange of information, the ability for the governor to receive unfiltered advice and not having to filter his own thoughts," Rocchio told the Free Press. "The presidential concerns were an ancillary argument."

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