White House admits negligence in finding, preserving missing e-mails Nick Cargo

Published: Wednesday January 14, 2009





Print This Email This In the ongoing quest to find and properly archive missing e-mails, the White House acknowledged that little has been done to make sure that all records will be properly preserved, despite previous rulings by federal judges.



The outlook is grim for a complete accounting of the Bush administration's official communications, said Sheila Shadmand, counsel for the National Security Archive. "The White House admitted it did nothing to stop people working in the White House from disposing of memory sticks, CDs, DVDs and zip drives that may have been the sole copies of missing e-mails on them," she announced. "We believe our ability to get a complete restoration of the White House record from 2003 to 2005 and evidence of what went wrong has been compromised."



On Wednesday, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the National Security Archive an emergency motion to compel the Executive Office of the President to ramp up its search for all remaining computers and media that could be housing e-mails, especially those dated from March 2003 to October 2005, so they can be properly transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration when President-elect Obama officially takes office on January 20.



This decision comes after the April 24, 2008 and July 29, 2008 recommendations by Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola that U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy order the surrender, search and preservation of White House and EOP computers and external media.



The National Security Archive and Citizens for Reponsibility and Ethics in Washington hailed the order and requested an inventory of external media devices, an inventory of backup tapes, a custodian to be appointed to secure the obtained records, an administrative record of the agencies' actions and assurances from the White House and the EOP that they will follow the order.



"The White House will complain about the last minute challenge, but this is a records crisis of the White House's own making," said National Security Archive Director Tom Blanton.



The National Security Archive originally filed suit against the EOP and NARA on September 5, 2007 in hopes of preserving and restoring the lost White House e-mails. That suit would later be consolidated with a nearly identical one filed by CREW.



The timeframe of the missing correspondence includes the days surrounding the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. IT expert Steven McDevitt testified in February 2008 that as many as 1 million official E-mails had gone missing, and contrary to an estimate that 473 days' correspondence was unaccounted for, the number was more like 1,000. CREW, in December 2007, charged that the number of missing e-mails was closer to 10 million.



Administration officials, including former Bush advisor Karl Rove, also used RNC-administered e-mail accounts to conduct official business despite being directed to do so through official communication channels. A Republican National Committee lawyer admitted in 2007 that at least four years' worth of Rove's e-mails had "gone missing." The Bush White House, RAW STORY reported last November, dismantled the records system put in place by President Clinton and replaced it with one that led to massive e-mail deletions.In the ongoing quest to find and properly archive missing e-mails, the White House acknowledged that little has been done to make sure that all records will be properly preserved, despite previous rulings by federal judges.



The outlook is grim for a complete accounting of the Bush administration's official communications, said Sheila Shadmand, counsel for the National Security Archive. "The White House admitted it did nothing to stop people working in the White House from disposing of memory sticks, CDs, DVDs and zip drives that may have been the sole copies of missing e-mails on them," she announced. "We believe our ability to get a complete restoration of the White House record from 2003 to 2005 and evidence of what went wrong has been compromised."



On Wednesday, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the National Security Archive an emergency motion to compel the Executive Office of the President to ramp up its search for all remaining computers and media that could be housing E-mails, especially those dated from March 2003 to October 2005, so they can be properly transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration when President-elect Obama officially takes office on January 20.



This decision comes after the April 24, 2008 and July 29, 2008 recommendations by Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola that U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy order the surrender, search and preservation of White House and EOP computers and external media.



The National Security Archive and Citizens for Reponsibility and Ethics in Washington hailed the order and requested an inventory of external media devices, an inventory of backup tapes, a custodian to be appointed to secure the obtained records, an administrative record of the agencies' actions and assurances from the White House and the EOP that they will follow the order.



"The White House will complain about the last minute challenge, but this is a records crisis of the White House's own making," said National Security Archive Director Tom Blanton. "The White House has been on notice since we filed our lawsuit a year and a half ago that they would have to retrieve and preserve their e-mail," Ms. Shadmand added. "Instead of coming clean and telling the public what they have been doing to solve the crisis, they refused to say anything. At this point, it is critical to preserve evidence that can help get to the bottom of the problem and prevent it from happening again."



The National Security Archive filed suit against the EOP and NARA on September 5, 2007 in hopes of preserving and restoring the lost White House e-mails. That suit would later be consolidated with a nearly identical one filed by CREW. The timeframe of the missing correspondence includes the days surrounding the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. IT expert Steven McDevitt testified in February that as many as 1 million official E-mails had gone missing, and contrary to an estimate that 473 days' correspondence was unaccounted for, the number was more like 1,000. CREW, in December 2007, charged that the number of missing e-mails was closer to 10 million.



Administration officials, including former Bush advisor Karl Rove, also used RNC-administered e-mail accounts to conduct official business despite being directed to do so through official communication channels. A Republican National Committee lawyer admitted in 2007 that at least four years' worth of Rove's e-mails had "gone missing." The Bush White House, RAW STORY reported last November, dismantled the records system put in place by President Clinton and replaced it with one that led to massive e-mail deletions.



"The White House has been on notice since we filed our lawsuit a year and a half ago that they would have to retrieve and preserve their e-mail," Ms. Shadmand added. "Instead of coming clean and telling the public what they have been doing to solve the crisis, they refused to say anything. At this point, it is critical to preserve evidence that can help get to the bottom of the problem and prevent it from happening again."



