Rawstory — An independent watchdog is asking Attorney General Michael Mukasey to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged criminal mismanagement by the Bush administration that resulted in the disappearance of more than 10 million internal e-mails.

Ongoing lawsuits and congressional investigations have revealed that the White House apparently failed to properly maintain e-mail archives from March 2003 until October 2005. This also means that millions of e-mails, which could have provided valuable insight to historians examining the inner workings of Bush administration as it planned the Iraq war or leaked the identity of former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, likely are lost forever.

Because the White House’s failure to maintain its archives may have violated federal law, including the Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act, a special prosecutor is needed, says Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is suing over the lost e-mails.

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