It’s amazing that it’s come to this.

The government “did not expedite their response … they did not produce the file within the time required by law, and they will not now estimate when the file might be produced or even confirm that an effort has been initiated to retrieve a copy from the microfilm at the Texas archives,” the lawsuit says.

In the absence of any privacy objection by the president and in light of the importance of the file’s release in advance of the November election, says the lawsuit, AP seeks a court order to compel the release of records “that are being unlawfully withheld from the public.”

The released records were from the Texas Air National Guard at Camp Mabry and the Defense Financing Accounting Service in Denver.

Under Texas law, a copy of military personnel files of those serving in the Texas Air National Guard must be retained on microfilm at the Texas archives.

The lawsuit says that no one has looked at any of the Texas Air National Guard records maintained at the state archives since 1996.

Responding to AP’s request, the Texas Air National Guard concluded that Bush’s file was a federal record under control of the U.S. Air National Guard.

When the government did not produce the documents, AP appealed to the Pentagon, saying that by law, the microfilm copy should have been produced within 20 days. The Pentagon said it could not respond within the legally required period.

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