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Clinton Presidential Library
1200 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
Inventory for FOIA Request 2006-0686-F
Records on International Arms Trafficking and Viktor Bout/Butt in the Files of NSC
Transnational Threats Director, Lee Wolosky, 2000-2001
Extent
13 folders, 1097 pages
Access
Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the
Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 USC 2201) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC
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 (Title 17, USC 101) 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, 2010. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.
Scope and Content
The materials in FOIA 2006-0686-F 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.
In the last years the of the Clinton Adminstration, several directorates from the National Security
Council (which included Transnational Threats, TNT, under Lee Wolosky) attempted to build a case
against Viktor Bout (or Butt), a high profile air cargo supplier and suspected international arms
smuggler. The so-called “Merchant of Death” made his money, at least initially, selling weapons in
Sierra Leone, Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola. Later on, his markets included
Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Colombia. According to a recent magazine article, Bout escaped capture for
so long because he supplied useful information to among others, the Americans, in exchange for
protection. But all of this ended when Bout was apprehended in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2008. His
arrest came about as the result of an undercover DEA operation. In a press release the United States
government said it planned to extradite Bout from Thailand. However, on August 11, 2009, Thai Court
2006-0686-F
Clinton Presidential Library’s web site
http://www.clintonlibrary.gov
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�ruled in favor of Viktor Bout, denying the U.S. its request for extradition based on the lack of legal basis
and political motivation behind the case. The U.S. appealed that ruling, and on August 20, 2010, a
higher Thai court ruled that Bout could, in fact, be extradited to the United States. On November 16,
Bout was extradited to the United States.
The White House Staff and Office Files contain documents related to the crash of an Antonov 24
airplane in Angola on October 31, 2000, as covered by the press, and copies of United Nations
resolutions which Victor Bout is believed to have violated.
FOIA request 2006-0686-F also contains electronic records in the form of emails and cables. It should
be noted that because of sensitivities associated with Bout and arms trafficking the majority of this
FOIA request is closed in full. The few documents that are open are notifications of upcoming NSC
meetings regarding Viktor Bout and the mention of a press article about sanctions on Liberia’s diamond
exports.
System of Arrangement
Records that were responsive to this FOIA request were found in two collection areas—Clinton
Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files and Clinton Presidential Records: NSC
Cable, Email, and Records Management Systems. As policy, 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.
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
National Security Council
Transnational Threats – Wolosky, Lee
Victor Butt Organization [1] [OA/ID 4044]
Victor Butt Organization [2] [OA/ID 4044]
Victor Butt Organization: Christiana Briggs [1] [OA/ID 4044]
Victor Butt Organization: Christiana Briggs [2] [OA/ID 4044]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management Systems
NSC Cables
Jan 1999-Dec 2000
[Butt and Wolosky…]
[06/12/2000-12/22/2000] [OA/ID 530000]
NSC Emails
Exchange-Record (Sept 97-Jan 01)
[Butt and Wolosky…]
[07/11/2000-09/12/2000] [OA/ID 620000]
[09/28/2000-11/01/2000] [OA/ID 620000]
[11/03/2000-12/01/2000] [OA/ID 620000]
Exchange-Non-Record (Mar 97-Jan 01)
[Butt and Wolosky…]
[07/19/2000-09/01/2000] [OA/ID 630000]
[09/07/2000-09/29/2000] [OA/ID 630000]
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Clinton Presidential Library’s web site
http://www.clintonlibrary.gov
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�NSC Emails (continued)
[10/02/2000-10/31/2000] [OA/ID 630000]
[11/01/2000-12/02/2000] [OA/ID 630000]
[12/05/2000-01/12/2001] [OA/ID 630000]
Last modified: 04/13/2011
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Clinton Presidential Library’s web site
http://www.clintonlibrary.gov
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�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Finding Aids - Collection Descriptions & Inventories
Description
An account of the resource
Finding aids at the Clinton Presidential Library contain a detailed description of the collection including the total number of pages or photos and length of video and audio recordings. Finding aids also include background information of the collection’s topic and details on the record type (ex: email, memorandum, briefing book, Betacam video, audio cassette etc). <br /><br />Finding aids describe collections at the box and folder level, and include a folder title list and information about the arrangement of the collection. <br /><br /><strong>Please note the majority of collections have not yet been scanned nor made available online.</strong>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Viktor Bout (or Butt) - Collection Finding Aid
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0686-F
Description
An account of the resource
This collection includes materials relating to Viktor Bout (or Butt). The records include cables, email, and other documents related to upcoming meetings related to Bout, copies of United Nations resolutions which Bout is believed to have violated, and various press articles about sanctions against Liberia's diamond exports and a plane crash in Angola in October of 2000. The majority of this FOIA case is currently withheld under PRA and FOIA restrictions.
<b>Please Note: No items in this collection have yet been scanned nor made available online</b>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Finding Aid