WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The White House must release its visitor logs and can not hide behind a shield of privilege , a federal judge ruled Monday . The Bush administration has resisted public disclosure while it fights a lawsuit over alleged political influence by conservative Christian leaders . The Bush administration has been fighting the release of White House visitor logs . U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth concluded the information is part of the public record and is subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act as `` agency records . '' `` Because the Secret Service creates , uses and relies on , and stores visitor records , they are under its control , '' said Lamberth . He ordered the Secret Service to produce records within 20 days . The White House claimed exclusive control of the documents , subject to the complete discretion of the president over their release . Secret Service records have been an important tool for advocacy groups and members of Congress seeking information on the inner workings of the executive branch . Congressional investigators used the records a decade ago in their investigations of the various Whitewater scandals involving President Clinton and his associates , as well as allegations of influence peddling by the Clinton campaign in the 1996 elections . Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , a self-described government watchdog group , sought the visit records of prominent conservatives James Dobson of Focus on the Family , Wendy Wright of Concerned Women of America and seven others including the late televangelist Jerry Falwell . `` CREW is pleased that the judge saw through the White House 's transparent attempts to hide public documents from the American people , '' said Melanie Sloan , the group 's executive director . `` We look forward to sharing the documents we obtain through this lawsuit . '' The White House and Justice Department had no immediate reaction to the ruling . Separate legal action by CREW and other groups , including Judicial Watch and the Washington Post , sought White House visitor logs that listed lobbyist Jack Abramoff . He pleaded guilty last year to public corruption charges . The White House and the Secret Service in 2006 signed an agreement that visitors to the White House complex were not subject to public disclosure . That `` memorandum of understanding '' was disclosed during legal action over the Abramoff records . Lamberth called that a `` self-serving '' agreement because it was issued after the records were created and after the CREW lawsuit . The judge , in a separate ruling Monday , said he lacked the authority to order the Secret Service to stop destroying its visitor records once copies were turned over to White House officials . But Lamberth noted the National Archives had to approve any destruction of the logs . Another federal judge in Washington ordered the release of Secret Service logs of visitors to Vice President Dick Cheney 's office . Cheney claimed those logs were subject to executive privilege . That ruling is being appealed . Lamberth noted the Secret Service has an important `` protective mission '' when compiling electronic information -- including background checks -- of those seeking to enter the White House complex . But he said the agency 's claim of `` limited use '' of the data does not mean the records are not subject to judicial review . `` This does not mean the Secret Service does not read or rely on them , '' wrote Lamberth . `` If that were the case , any convenience store patron who has ever bought a losing scratch ticket could claim they did not gamble simply because they held the ticket for only a few minutes . '' The issue of White House privilege over visitor logs has not been fully addressed by the Supreme Court . The case decided Monday is Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security . E-mail to a friend .
Judge : The judge is a very important person in the legal system. White House battling suit alleging influence of conservative Christian leaders . Separate legal action finds convicted lobbyist visited White House . Records have been a key investigative tool for advocacy groups and Congress .