Judge orders White House to hold e-mails

sunflower · 11-12-2007, 03:00 PM

By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer

A federal judge Monday ordered the White House to preserve copies of all its e-mails, a move that Bush administration lawyers had argued strongly against.

U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy directed the Executive Office of the President to safeguard the material in response to two lawsuits that seek to determine whether the White House has destroyed e-mails in violation of federal law.

The White House is seeking dismissal of the lawsuits brought by two private groups — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government and the National Security Archive.

The organizations allege the disappearance of 5 million White House e-mails. The court order issued by Kennedy, an appointee of President Clinton, is directed at maintaining backup tapes which contain copies of White House e-mails.

The Federal Records Act details strict standards prohibiting the destruction of government documents including electronic messages, unless first approved by the archivist of the United States.

Justice Department lawyers had urged the courts to accept a proposed White House declaration promising to preserve all backup tapes.

"The judge decided that wasn't enough," said Anne Weismann, an attorney for CREW, which has gone to court over secrecy issues involving the Bush administration and has pursued ethical issues involving Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The judge's order "should stop any future destruction of e-mails, but the White House stopped archiving its e-mail in 2003 and we don't know if some backup tapes for those e-mails were already taped over before we went to court. It's a mystery," said Meredith Fuchs, a lawyer for the National Security Archive.

CREW and the National Security Archive are seeking to force the White House to immediately explain in court what happened to its e-mail, an issue that first surfaced nearly two years ago in the leak probe of administration officials who disclosed Valerie Plame's CIA identity to reporters.

Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald revealed early in 2006 that relevant e-mails could be missing because of an archiving problem at the White House.

The White House has provided little public information about the matter, saying that some e-mails may not have been automatically archived on a computer server for the Executive Office of the President and that the e-mails may have been preserved on backup tapes.

The White House has said that its Office of Administration is looking into whether there are e-mails that were not automatically archived and that if there is a problem, the necessary steps will be taken to address it.

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press.

jdanton · 11-12-2007, 03:10 PM

All this reminds me of the accidentally erased 18 minutes of tape back in the Watergate days.

sunflower · 11-12-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdanton

All this reminds me of the accidentally erased 18 minutes of tape back in the Watergate days.

Right?

bigbrowndog · 11-12-2007, 06:36 PM

Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald revealed early in 2006 that relevant e-mails could be missing because of an archiving problem at the White House.

well that, and they sent some to a wrong email adress.

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20...s-to-reporter/

11-12-2007, 03:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
sunflower Latin Lover Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Central Fla. Posts: 2,594 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Judge orders White House to hold e-mails By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer A federal judge Monday ordered the White House to preserve copies of all its e-mails, a move that Bush administration lawyers had argued strongly against. U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy directed the Executive Office of the President to safeguard the material in response to two lawsuits that seek to determine whether the White House has destroyed e-mails in violation of federal law. The White House is seeking dismissal of the lawsuits brought by two private groups — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government and the National Security Archive. The organizations allege the disappearance of 5 million White House e-mails. The court order issued by Kennedy, an appointee of President Clinton, is directed at maintaining backup tapes which contain copies of White House e-mails. The Federal Records Act details strict standards prohibiting the destruction of government documents including electronic messages, unless first approved by the archivist of the United States. Justice Department lawyers had urged the courts to accept a proposed White House declaration promising to preserve all backup tapes. "The judge decided that wasn't enough," said Anne Weismann, an attorney for CREW, which has gone to court over secrecy issues involving the Bush administration and has pursued ethical issues involving Republicans on Capitol Hill. The judge's order "should stop any future destruction of e-mails, but the White House stopped archiving its e-mail in 2003 and we don't know if some backup tapes for those e-mails were already taped over before we went to court. It's a mystery," said Meredith Fuchs, a lawyer for the National Security Archive. CREW and the National Security Archive are seeking to force the White House to immediately explain in court what happened to its e-mail, an issue that first surfaced nearly two years ago in the leak probe of administration officials who disclosed Valerie Plame's CIA identity to reporters. Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald revealed early in 2006 that relevant e-mails could be missing because of an archiving problem at the White House. The White House has provided little public information about the matter, saying that some e-mails may not have been automatically archived on a computer server for the Executive Office of the President and that the e-mails may have been preserved on backup tapes. The White House has said that its Office of Administration is looking into whether there are e-mails that were not automatically archived and that if there is a problem, the necessary steps will be taken to address it. Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. __________________ “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”. *George Orwell* ************************************ The owners of this country know the truth. It's called the American Dream....'cos you have to be asleep to believe it. George Carlin http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...m8fo8ne6xy.gif
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11-12-2007, 03:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
jdanton Puddy Tat Watch Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 3,806 My Mood: Thanks: 38 Thanked 51 Times in 38 Posts	All this reminds me of the accidentally erased 18 minutes of tape back in the Watergate days. __________________ Author: Memoirs of a Sleepless Mind, a book you CAN judge by its cover.
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11-12-2007, 06:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
bigbrowndog Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 853 My Mood: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald revealed early in 2006 that relevant e-mails could be missing because of an archiving problem at the White House. well that, and they sent some to a wrong email adress. http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20...s-to-reporter/ __________________ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...antasleigh.jpg help people eat for Christmas http://www.freerice.com/index.php
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