(2014-1064-F) Foreign Policy Lunches

40 folders, approximately 1,890 pages

The collection contains records regarding working lunches between the National Security Advisor (Anthony Lake or Samuel Berger), the Secretary of State (Warren Christopher or Madeleine Albright), and the Secretary of Defense (Les Aspin, William Perry, or William Cohen). These records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, briefing and meeting materials, schedules, newspaper articles, and emails that address a number of foreign policy topics.

The materials in FOIA 2014-1064-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. This FOIA contains records of the working lunches between the National Security Council (NSC) National Security Advisor, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense. These meetings began early during the Clinton Administration and continued throughout the 2nd term. However, the majority of the lunches seem to have occurred between 1993 and 1997. The original members consisted of National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, Secretary of State Warren Christopher, and Secretary of Defense Les Aspin (CAL lunches). The meeting participants changed as Secretaries departed and new members were appointed: Lake, Christopher, and Secretary of Defense William Perry (CPL lunches) and finally National Security Advisor Samuel Berger, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Secretary of Defense William Cohen (ABC lunches). A variety of foreign policy topics were debated at each meeting, with each member usually bringing an issue(s) to be discussed and decided. The majority of the records processed in response to this FOIA were found in the files of the NSC National Security Advisor and the NSC Records Management System. These records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, briefing and meeting materials, schedules, newspaper articles, and emails regarding the various topics discussed during the Secretaries lunches. The researcher should note that a majority of records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.

Textual

Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files and Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System. Staff and Office files were maintained at the folder level by staff members within their individual offices and document all levels of administration activity. Staff and Office files are processed at the folder level, that is, individual documents are not selected and removed from a folder for processing. While this method maintains folder integrity, it frequently results in the incidental processing of documents that are not wholly responsive to the subject area.

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.

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).

Staff Archivist, 2016. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.

The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2014-1064-F:
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
National Security Council
Democracy, Human Rights, and Multilateral Affairs
Halperin, Morton
Christopher/Perry/Lake Lunches [OA/ID 494]
European Affairs
Drew, Nelson/Bremner Sue/Kerrick, Donald
C-P-L [Christopher-Perry-Lake] Papers [empty] [OA/ID 694]
National Security Advisor
Berger, Samuel (Sandy)
A-B-C [Albright-Berger-Cohen] Lunch [OA/ID 2407]
Lake, Anthony
C-A-L [Christopher-Aspin-Lake] Lunches [1] [OA/ID 1455]
C-A-L [Christopher-Aspin-Lake] Lunches [2] [OA/ID 1455]
CPL Lunch Meetings, 1994 [1] [OA/ID 1456]
CPL Lunch Meetings, 1994 [2] [OA/ID 1456]
C-P-L [Christopher-Perry-Lake] Lunch Meetings, 1994 [1] [OA/ID 1460]
C-P-L [Christopher-Perry-Lake] Lunch Meetings, 1994 [2] [OA/ID 1460]
Box 2
CPL Lunch Meetings, 1995 [1] [OA/ID 1462]
CPL Lunch Meetings, 1995 [2] [OA/ID 1462]
CPL Lunch Meetings, 1995 [3] [OA/ID 1462]
CPL Lunches [1] [OA/ID 1465]
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files (continued)
National Security Council
National Security Advisor
Lake, Anthony
CPL Lunches [2] [OA/ID 1465]
Steinberg, James
“Lunch” Papers, 1996-1997 [1] [OA/ID 1475]
“Lunch” Papers, 1996-1997 [2] [OA/ID 1475]
Box 3
“Lunch” Papers, 1996-1997 [3] [OA/ID 1475]
“Lunch” Papers, 1996-1997 [4] [OA/ID 1475]
“Lunch” Papers, 1996-1997 [5] [OA/ID 1475]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System
NSC Records Management System
[Christopher and Lunch…]
9300743 [OA/ID 140]
9302732 [OA/ID 147]
9304003 [OA/ID 150]
9305299 [OA/ID 154]
9305586 [OA/ID 154]
9305955 [OA/ID 156]
9306393 [OA/ID 158]
9308164 [OA/ID 168]
9309055 [OA/ID 714]
9402405 [OA/ID 471]
9403852 [OA/ID 474]
9404649 [OA/ID 475]
9506647 [OA/ID 602]
9507198 [OA/ID 606]
9603028 [OA/ID 1100]
9603579 [OA/ID 1103]
9700970 [OA/ID 1602]
9706004 [OA/ID 1639]
9803314 [OA/ID 2035]
9902969 [OA/ID 2724]
0003255 [OA/ID 4090]