It is a lingering mystery of Bill Clinton’s White House: the genesis of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that gay groups came to revile.

But soon, this and other secrets that remain hidden away here at the Clinton Presidential Library may be unlocked. What did the Justice Department say about all the random requests for pardons? What kind of advice came from Clinton staffers such as now-Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan? What strategic thoughts were offered to the president and first lady Hillary Clinton on terrorism, Whitewater and health care reform? And what’s the library been holding back about Vince Foster?

Six months after the National Archives began releasing long-withheld Clinton White House documents, thousands of pages of the most sensitive records are still not yet public. But hints of their contents emerged during a recent POLITICO review of the gaps in the library’s public files.