Expand All Collapse All Extent 250 folders, approximately 35,245 pages Summary This collection consists of email related to the implementation of the "Don't Ask, Don't tell" policy concerning homosexuals serving in the military. It contains emails between White House Staffers, Department of Defense personnel, members of the National Security Council and civilian advocacy groups discussing various issues with the implementation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Scope and Content Note The materials in FOIA 2015-0017-F (Segment 2) are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. Researchers interested in this topic should also see 2015-0017-F (segment 1), 2006-0227-F, 2009-1006-F, and 2013-0028-F. This collection contains records concerning the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. During his 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton promised that, if he were elected, he would repeal the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military. Once in office, however, the new President faced stiff opposition from many, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Carl Mundy, and the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sam Nunn. On July 19, 1993, President Clinton announced the compromise that became known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The policy ordered the military to stop asking recruits about their sexual orientation, but allowed for a military discharge if a member of the armed forces stated that he or she is a homosexual or engages in “homosexual conduct”. While Clinton acknowledged in his announcement of the new policy that this was not “a perfect solution”, he did consider it “a major step forward”. This collection consists of email exchanged and preserved by the Automated Records Management System and Tape Restoration Project. This collection primarily consists of articles, press briefings, press guidance, news summaries, and broadcast transcripts. Responsive email contains the key word phrases “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” or “gays in the military.” Other responsive but un-substantive email may be found in exchanges from the online community in the form of listservs. The most substantive email can be found in the WHO bucket. Substantive email may be found in the email exchanged to and from the official White House liaison to the gay community Richard Socarides (1996 to 1999) and Elizabeth J. “Julian” Potter (1999-2001). Socarides and Potter served in the Office of Public Liaison. Socarides and Potter received and forwarded articles concerning the DADT policy circulated by the Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN). Other substantive email consists of talking points concerning the Administration’s policy concerning DADT, the 1998 Department of Defense (DoD) report, and 2000 DOD IG investigation of military misconduct concerning harassment of homosexuals in the military. Email includes correspondence concerning Navy Petty Officer Timothy McVeigh’s discharge from the military and the beating death of Pfc. Barry Winchell at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in 1999. McVeigh was discharged after he identified himself as “gay” in his personal email account. Winchell was beaten to death by Calvin Glover in his barrack. Record Type Textual System of Arrangement Records that were responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas— Clinton Presidential Records: Automated Records Management System, and Clinton Presidential Records: Tape Restoration Project. The Automated Records Management System (ARMS) is a database that contains email records of the Executive Office of the President. This system maintained unclassified Presidential email. The ARMS database is comprised of six sub-series of email records called "buckets." The buckets generally represent a specific White House office. The buckets are titled: NPR for National Performance Review, OPD for Office of Policy Development, POTUS for President of the United States, WHO for White House Office, CEA for Council of Economic Advisers, and Default for emails not associated with an office. The OPD bucket contains email created or received by an individual with an Office of Policy Development (OPD) White House user account. The WHO bucket contains email created or received by individual with an Executive Office of the President White House user account not identified as CEA, NPR, or OPD. The CEA bucket contains email created or received by an individual with a Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) White House user account. The Default bucket contains email created or received by unknown or un-recognized email accounts. Email found within the Default bucket often includes email created or received by offices or individuals outside the Executive Office of the President. ARMS emails are arranged by topic, there-under by bucket, and there-under chronologically by creation date. The Tape Restoration Project (TRP) is a database consisting of restored emails from the Automated Records Management System (ARMS) from July 1994 through June of 2000. The TRP is a database that contains email records of the Executive Office of the President. This system maintained unclassified Presidential record email. The TRP database is comprised of the same six sub-series of email as in ARMS. TRP emails are arranged by topic, there-under by bucket, and there-under chronologically by creation date. Access Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. Chapter 22, as amended) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions. Copyright Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States government as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Researchers are advised to consult the copyright law of the United States (17 U.S.C. Chapter 1) which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Provenance Official records of William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency are housed at the Clinton Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA). Processed by Staff Archivist, 2016. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released. Last Modified Date 2017-12-05 Container List The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to 2015-0017-F (Segment 2): Box 1 Clinton Presidential Records: Automated Records Management System [Email] OPD [OA/ID 250000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [08/11/1993 – 06/25/1996] [01/06/1997 – 07/23/1997] [07/24/1997] [1] [07/24/1997] [2] [01/27/1998] [01/28/1998] [1] [01/28/1998] [2] [01/28/1998 – 06/25/1998] Box 2 [08/04/1998] [1] [08/04/1998] [2] [09/23/1998 – 08/11/1999] [08/12/1999 – 09/01/1999] [09/01/1999 – 12/06/1999] [12/07/1999 – 12/12/1999] Box 3 [12/12/1999 – 12/14/1999] [12/14/1999 – 12/19/1999] [12/19/1999 – 12/23/1999] [12/23/1999] [1] [12/23/1999] [2] [12/23/1999] [3] Box 4 [12/23/1999] [4] [12/23/1999] [5] [12/24/1999 – 01/06/2000] [01/06/2000 – 01/07/2000] [01/07/2000 – 01/11/2000] Box 5 [01/12/2000 – 03/06/2000] [03/06/2000 – 04/22/2000] [04/23/2000 – 07/10/2000] [07/17/2000 – 08/01/2000] [08/01/2000 – 08/04/2000] [08/04/2000 – 12/18/2000] Box 6 Clinton Presidential Records: Automated Records Management System [Email] WHO [OA/ID 500000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [08/02/1993 – 08/12/1993] [08/12/1993 – 09/02/1993] [09/07/1993 – 09/29/1993] [09/29/1993 – 11/02/1993] [11/02/1993 – 11/30/1993] [11/30/1993 – 12/17/1993] Box 7 [12/20/1993 – 01/03/1994] [01/03/1994 – 01/14/1994] [01/17/1994 – 02/23/1994] [02/23/1994 – 03/30/1994] [04/05/1999 – 07/13/1994] [07/13/1994 – 08/11/1994] Box 8 [09/19/1994 – 09/28/1998] [09/28/1994 – 10/07/1994] [10/07/1994 – 11/10/1994] [11/10/1994 – 12/01/1994] [01/26/1995 – 03/27/1995] [03/30/1995 – 06/06/1995] Box 9 [06/06/1995 – 11/13/1995] [11/13/1995 – 12/17/1995] [12/19/1995 – 01/18/1996] [01/18/1996 – 01/29/1996] [01/30/1996 – 03/03/1996] [03/04/1996 – 03/28/1996] Box 10 [03/28/1996 – 05/08/1996] [05/08/1996 – 05/17/1996] [05/17/1996 – 05/26/1996] [05/27/1996 – 06/07/1996] [06/07/1996 – 07/02/1996] [07/02/1996 – 07/12/1996] Box 11 [07/13/1996 – 09/04/1996] [09/06/1996 – 10/22/1996] [10/22/1996 – 10/29/1996] [11/06/1996 – 04/17/1997] [04/17/1997 – 01/13/1998] [01/13/1998 – 02/17/1998] Box 12 [02/18/1998 – 03/27/1998] [04/01/1998 – 04/08/1998] [04/08/1998 – 05/06/1998] [05/11/1998 – 08/07/1998] [09/23/1998 – 01/25/1999] [01/25/1999 – 03/16/1999] Box 13 [03/17/1999 – 06/29/1999] [06/30/1999 – 08/11/1999] [08/11/1999 – 08/13/1999] [08/13/1999 – 08/13/1999] [08/13/1999 – 08/31/1999] [08/31/1999 – 09/07/1999] Box 14 [08/13/1999 – 09/07/1999] [09/07/1999 – 09/21/1999] [09/21/1999 – 09/25/1999] [09/27/1999 – 09/29/1999] [09/29/1999] [1] [09/29/1999] [2] [09/29/1999] [3] Box 15 [09/30/1999 – 10/09/1999] [10/14/1999 – 11/16/1999] [11/16/1999] [11/22/1999 – 12/08/1999] [12/08/1999 – 12/09/1999] [12/09/1999 – 12/12/1999] Box 16 [12/13/1999] [1] [12/13/1999] [2] [12/13/1999 – 12/14/1999] [12/14/1999 – 12/15/1999] [12/15/1999 – 12/16/1999] [12/16/1999 – 12/17/1999] Box 17 [12/17/1999 – 12/21/1999] [12/21/1999 – 01/06/2000] [01/06/2000 – 01/07/2000] [01/07/2000 – 01/10/2000] [01/10/2000 – 01/11/2000] [01/11/2000 – 01/13/2000] Box 18 [01/13/2000 – 01/14/2000] [01/14/2000 – 01/19/2000] [01/19/2000 – 01/31/2000] [02/02/2000 – 02/16/2000] [02/16/2000 – 03/08/2000] [03/08/2000 – 03/14/2000] Box 19 [03/15/2000 – 03/23/2000] [03/23/2000 – 03/28/2000] [03/29/2000 – 04/18/2000] [04/18/2000 – 04/22/2000] [04/23/2000 – 05/02/2000] [05/04/2000 – 05/08/2000] Box 20 [05/09/2000 – 05/29/2000] [05/30/2000 – 06/09/2000] [06/09/2000 – 07/09/2000] [07/10/2000 – 07/20/2000] [07/20/2000 – 07/25/2000] [07/26/2000 – 07/27/2000] Box 21 [07/27/2000 – 07/28/2000] [07/28/2000 – 07/31/2000] [08/01/2000 – 08/03/2000] [08/04/2000 - 08/10/2000] [08/10/2000 – 08/26/2000] [08/29/2000 – 09/20/2000] Box 22 [09/21/2000 – 10/10/2000] [10/10/2000 – 10/12/2000] [10/13/2000 – 10/23/2000] [10/23/2000 – 11/03/2000] [11/03/2000 – 11/21/2000] [11/21/2000 – 12/07/2000] Box 23 [12/07/2000 – 12/08/2000] [12/08/2000 – 12/18/2000] [12/18/2000 – 01/03/2001] [01/06/2001] [1] [01/06/2001] [2] [01/08/2001 – 01/18/2001] CEA [OA/ID 950000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [06/19/1998 – 12/15/1999] Box 24 [12/16/1999 – 12/08/2000] Default [OA/ID 1100000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [08/02/1993 – 08/12/1993] [08/12/1993 – 09/07/1993] [09/08/1993 – 09/24/1993] [09/24/1993 – 11/07/1993] [11/09/1993 – 12/17/1993] Box 25 [12/20/1993 – 01/03/1994] [01/03/1994 – 01/20/1994] [01/24/1994 – 02/03/1994] [02/04/1994 – 02/22/1994] [02/23/1994 – 03/10/1994] [03/10/1994 – 05/19/1994] Box 26 [05/23/1994 – 06/22/1994] [06/22/1994 – 07/05/1994] [07/07/1994 – 11/21/1994] [12/08/1994 – 04/13/1995] [05/02/1995 – 04/11/1996] Box 27 [09/02/1996 – 03/16/1999] [03/16/1999 – 09/27/1999] [09/29/1999 – 12/09/1999] [12/09/1999 – 12/12/1999] [12/12/1999 – 12/14/1999] Box 28 [12/05/1999 – 12/16/1999] [12/16/1999 – 12/19/1999] [12/19/1999 – 12/23/1999] [12/23/1999 – 12/30/1999] [12/30/1999 – 01/06/2000] Box 29 [01/06/2000 – 01/08/2000] [01/08/2000 – 01/11/2000] [01/11/2000 – 01/14/2000] [01/14/2000 – 01/19/2000] [01/14/2000 – 01/28/2000] [01/28/2000 – 02/14/2000] Box 30 [02/15/2000 – 03/09/2000] [03/09/2000 – 03/24/2000] [03/24/2000 – 03/28/2000] [03/30/2000 – 10/06/2000] [10/13/2000 – 10/23/2000] [10/24/2000 – 11/03/2000] Box 31 [11/09/2000 – 01/16/2001] Clinton Presidential Records: Tape Restoration Project [Email] OPD [OA/ID 250000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [04/10/1998 – 05/15/1998] [06/09/1998] [1] [06/09/1998] [2] [06/15/1998] [06/16/1998] [1] [06/16/1998] [2] [06/25/1998] [08/04/1998] [1] Box 32 [08/04/1998] [2] [09/23/1998 – 03/16/1999] WHO [OA/ID 500000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [04/02/1998 – 09/24/1998] [09/24/1998 – 11/08/1999] [11/12/1999 – 12/16/1999] CEA [OA/ID 950000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [04/09/1998] Default [OA/ID 1100000] [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] [07/25/1995 – 08/30/1995] [09/27/1995 – 11/06/1995] Box 33 [01/22/1996 – 02/22/1996] [02/05/1996 – 03/11/1996] [03/12/1996 – 07/25/1996] [08/14/1996 – 03/04/1997] [03/04/1997 – 03/05/1997] [03/17/1997 – 05/29/1997] [06/04/1997] [1] Box 34 [06/04/1997] [2] [07/02/1997 - 07/031997] [07/16/1997] [1] [07/16/1997] [2] [07/21/1997] [1] [07/21/1997] [2] [07/22/1997] Box 35 [07/24/1997] [1] [07/24/1997] [2] [07/25/1997 – 10/03/1997] [10/04/1997 – 10/18/1997] [10/18/1997 – 11/07/1997] [11/07/1997 – 11/09/1997] Box 36 [11/10/1997 – 11/21/1997] [11/21/1997 – 12/03/1997] [12/06/1997 – 01/12/1998] [01/12/1998 – 01/15/1998] [01/15/1998 – 01/21/1998] [01/22/1998 – 01/26/1998] Box 37 [01/26/1998] [1] [01/26/1998] [2] [1] [01/26/1998] [2] [2] [01/26/1998 – 01/30/1998] [01/29/1998 – 02/19/1998] [02/19/1998 – 04/01/1998] [04/09/1998 – 04/26/1998] Box 38 [04/09/1998 – 04/26/1998] [04/27/1998 – 05/15/1998] [05/20/1998] [05/21/1998] [1] [05/21/1998] [2] [05/22/1998 – 06/13/1998] [06/16/1998] [1] Box 39 [06/16/1998] [2] [06/21/1998 – 07/05/1998] [07/06/1998 – 07/29/1998] [08/04/1998] [1] [08/04/1998] [2] [08/04/1998 – 09/02/1998] [09/02/1998] [1] [09/02/1998] [2] Box 40 [09/02/1998] [3] [09/02/1998] [4] [09/03/1998 – 10/24/1998] [11/04/1998] [03/01/1999 – 03/03/1999]