Bush White House e-mail controversy

The Bush White House e-mail controversy surfaced in 2007, during the controversy involving the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys. Congressional requests for administration documents while investigating the dismissals of the U.S. attorneys required the Bush administration to reveal that not all internal White House emails were available, because they were sent via a non-government domain hosted on an e-mail server not controlled by the federal government. Conducting governmental business in this manner is a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1978, and the Hatch Act. [http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/04/4151_rove_and_co_bro.html Rove and Co. Broke Federal Law With Email Scam] by Jonathan Stein, Mother Jones, April 12, 2007] Over 5 million e-mails may have been lost or deleted. [http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0413-01.htm CREW Releases New Report - Without A Trace: The Missing White House Emails and The Violations of The Presidential Records Act] [http://www.citizensforethics.org/files/041207WithoutATraceFullReport.pdf] Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, April 13, 2006] [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-emails12apr12,0,4800585.story?coll=la-home-headlines Officials' e-mails may be missing, White House says Democrats in Congress want messages from private system for probe of U.S. attorney firings] By Tom Hamburger, Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2007] Recently, Greg Palast claims to have come up with 500 of the Karl Rove lost emails, leading to damaging allegations. [cite web|url=http://www.gregpalast.com/amy-goodman-and-greg-palast-moms-day-broadcast/|title=“I have Karl Rove’s emails”|accessdate=2007-05-26|publisher=gregpalast.com]

gwb43.com

The administration officials have been using a private Internet domain, called gwb43.com, owned by and hosted on an e-mail server run by the Republican National Committee, ["The Guardian". [http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6506360,00.html White House Says It Still Backs Gonzales] . 25 March 2007.] for various communications of unknown content or purpose. The domain name is an acronym standing for "George W. Bush, 43rd" President of the United States. The server came public when it was discovered that J. Scott Jennings, the White House's deputy director of political affairs, was using a gwb43.com e-mail address to discuss the firing of the U.S. attorney for Arkansas. "Washington Post". [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601979.html GOP Groups Told to Keep Bush Officials' E-Mails] . 27 March 2007] Communications by federal employees were also found on georgewbush.com and rnchq.org, but unlike these two servers, gwb43.com has no Web server connected to it — it is used only for e-mail. [http://www.gwb43.com/]

The "gwb43.com" domain name was publicized by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), who sent a letter to Oversight and Government Reform Committee committee chairman Henry A. Waxman requesting an investigation. [ [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/25822 CREW asks for House Investigation into White House violations of Presidential Records Act.] . "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)," 15 March 2007.] Waxman sent a formal warning to the RNC, advising them to retain copies of all e-mails sent by White House employees. According to Waxman, "in some instances, White House officials were using nongovernmental accounts specifically to avoid creating a record of the communications." ["The Hill". [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/waxman-requests-that-rnc-bush-campaign-preserve-e-mails-2007-03-26.html Waxman wants RNC, Bush campaign to preserve e-mails] . 26 March 2007] The Republican National Committee claims to have erased the emails, supposedly making them unavailable for Congressional investigators. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/12/fired.prosecutors.ap/index.html News from CNN] ]

On April 12, 2007, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel stated that White House staffers were told to use RNC accounts to "err on the side of avoiding violations of the Hatch Act, but they should also retain that information so it can be reviewed for the Presidential Records Act," and that "some employees ... have communicated about official business on those political email accounts."White House - April 12, 2007 Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel [http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002993.php] ] Stanzel also said that even though RNC policy since 2004 has been to retain all emails of White House staff with RNC accounts, the staffers had the ability to delete the email themselves.

Dead Letter Office

Some of the "missing" emails that were sent through the RNC accounts were mistakenly addressed to [ [2004.georgewbush.org] georgewbush.org] georgewbush.org, a parody site. Text of the misaddressed emails is available at the Dead Letter Office. [ [http://2004.georgewbush.org/deadletteroffice/] the Dead Letter Office]

Use by senior White House staff

According to a former White House official, Karl Rove used RNC-hosted addresses for roughly "95 percent" of his e-mail. [Froomkin, Dan. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/03/23/BL2007032301067_pf.html The Rovian Theory] "washingtonpost.com" 2007-03-23]

White House deputy Jennifer Farley told Jack Abramoff not to use the official White House system "because it might actually limit what they can do to help us, especially since there could be lawsuits, etc." Abramoff responded, "Dammit. It was sent to Susan on her RNC pager and was not supposed to go into the WH system." ["Financial Times". [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7efd6212-dbe7-11db-9233-000b5df10621.html Aides to Bush told not to destroy e-mails] . 26 March 2007]

Investigations with missing e-mails

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

The House Oversight committee in an interim staff report, released on June 18, 2007:] :* At least eighty-eight Republican National Committee e-mail accounts were granted to senior Bush administration officials, not "just a handful" as previously reported by the White House spokesperson Dana Perino in March of 2007. Her estimate was later revised to "about fifty." Officials with accounts included: include Karl Rove, the President’s senior advisor; Andrew Card, the former White House Chief of Staff; Ken Mehlman, the former White House Director of Political Affairs; and many other officials in the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Communications, and the Office of the Vice President.

:* The RNC has 140,216 e-mails sent or received by Karl Rove. Over half of these e-mails (75,374) were sent to or received from individuals using official “.gov” e-mail accounts. Other users of RNC e-mail accounts include former Director of Political Affairs Sara Taylor (66,018 e-mails) and Deputy Director of Political Affairs Scott Jennings (35,198 e-mails). These e-mail accounts were used by White House officials for official purposes, such as communicating with federal agencies about federal appointments and policies.

:* Of the 88 White House officials who received RNC e-mail accounts, the RNC has preserved no e-mails for 51 officials.

:* There is evidence that the Office of White House Counsel under Alberto Gonzales may have known that White House officials were using RNC e-mail accounts for official business, but took no action to preserve these presidential records.

:*The evidence obtained by the Committee indicates that White House officials used their RNC e-mail accounts in a manner that circumvented these requirements. At this point in the investigation, it is not possible to determine precisely how many presidential records may have been destroyed by the RNC. Given the heavy reliance by White House officials on RNC e-mail accounts, the high rank of the White House officials involved, and the large quantity of missing e-mails, the potential violation of the Presidential Records Act may be extensive.

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

During the investigation into the exceptional firing of eight U.S. attorneys, [Dismissal attorneys uncommon
* [http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/03/19/us_attorneys/index.html Republicans and U.S. attorneys -- then and now] by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, March 19, 2007
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301450.html Inserting Politics Into Justice] By E. J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post, March 24, 2007
* [http://mediamatters.org/items/200703150001 Media repeat claim that Clinton's dismissal of George H.W. Bush U.S. attorneys was comparable to Bush's dismissal of own U.S. attorneys] Media Matters, March 14, 2007] it became known White House staff was using Republican National Committee (RNC) e-mail accounts. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0610FB395B0C718DDDAD0894DF404482 Advisers' E-Mail Accounts May Have Mixed Politics and Business, White House Says] By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG, New York Times, April 12, 2007] The White House stated it might have lost five million e-mails. [http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052107A.shtml Missing Rove Emails Point to Violation of Records Act] By Jason Leopold and Matt Renner, "Truthout", May 21, 2007]

On May 2, 2007, the Senate Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Department of Justice (DOJ) compelling the production of email Karl Rove sent to DOJ staff, regarding evaluation and dismissal of attorneys, no matter what email account Rove used, whether White House or National Republican party accounts, or other accounts, with a deadline of May 15, 2007 for compliance. The subpoena also demanded relevant email previously produced in the Valarie Plame controversy and investigation for the CIA leak scandal (2003). [Lahey, Patrick [http://news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/doj/sjc50207rovesmailsubpoena.pdf Rove Email Subpeona] "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary" (via "Findlaw") May 2, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.]

CIA leak grand jury investigation

Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson alleged that his wife's identity was covert and that members of the George W. Bush administration knowingly revealed that information as retribution for his New York Times op-ed entitled "What I Didn't Find in Africa," of July 6, 2003, in which he debunked the claim Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium. Patrick J. Fitzgerald, while investigating the leak, found that e-mails were missing from the White House server. [Fitzgerald
* [http://mediamatters.org/items/200602020012 Media largely ignored Fitzgerald revelation that White House may have destroyed emails]
* [http://www.nysun.com/article/26937?page_no=1 White House Fails To Archive E-Mail; Issue in CIA Leak Case] By JOSH GERSTEIN, The New York Sun, February 2, 2006] [http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/04/4164_re_those_missin.html RE: Those Missing White House Emails] Mother Jones] Mother Jones wrote that this is possibly the reason the RNC changed the policy of deleting e-mails after 30 days to saving all e-mail sent and received by White House officials. In light of the apparent vanished e-mails Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has asked to reopen the investigation. [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20070413/pl_usnw/crew_writes_patrick_fitzgerald_asking_to_re_open_rove_case_in_light_of_missing_emails CREW Writes Patrick Fitzgerald Asking to Re-Open Rove Case in Light of Missing Emails] Yahoo, April 13, 2007]

Jack Abramoff Guam investigation

The U.S. attorneys controversy has caused people to re-evaluate the possible involvement of Abramoff in the firing of his prosecutor in Guam Black. The DOJ inspector general report concluded that an investigation showed no involvement on the part of Abramoff regarding his dismissal. However, the revelations surrounding the RNC linked e-mails suggest that the conclusion may be premature since it is now known that not all correspondence was available and therefore not included in that report. [Abramoff Ties to White House
* [http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041607E.shtml Justice Probes Abramoff Ties to White House] By Scot J. Paltrow, The Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2007
* [http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032807A.shtml Abramoff Emails Raise New Questions in Attorney Firings] By Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t, March 28, 2007 ]

General Services Administration

It is feared that the missing e-mails might also have an impact on congressional investigation of General Services Administration. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/17/AR2007041701984.html?nav=rss_politics Immunity for Ex-Gonzales Aide Weighed Potential Witness's Role in Firings Cited] By Paul Kane, The Washington Post, April 18, 2007; Page A08]

Department of Education

While investigating the Reading First program CREW learned that employees use private e-mails to conduct official business. This might be a violation of the Federal Records Act. [ [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/28382 CREW learns Dept. of Education staff are using private e-mails in violation of federal law] CREW, May 16, 2007] [ [http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Ethics_watchdog_accuses_Education_Department_of_0516.html Ethics watchdog accuses Education Department of illegal e-mail use] by Nick Juliano, Raw Story, May 16, 2007]

Legalities

The Hatch Act

The Hatch Act prohibits the use of government resources, including e-mail accounts, for political purposes. The Bush administration stated the RNC accounts were used to prevent violation of this Act.

Presidential Records Act

The Presidential Records Act mandates the preservation of all presidential records. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the Wall Street Journal contend that the missing e-mails may constitute a violation of this Act. [ [http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/5471 LEGAL WORRIES OVER MISSING EMAILS GROW] by John D. McKinnon, Wall Street Journal]

ee also

*Watergate tapes
*Henry H. Kennedy, Jr.

References

External links

* [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20080417/index.htm#chron Chronology of White House E-Mail Controversy] National Security Archive, The George Washington University, April 17, 2008.
* [http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/laws/1978-act.html Presidential Records Act (PRA)] "U.S. National Archives and Records Administration" - Description of the records that must be retained by the President.
* [http://www.osc.gov/hatchact.htm Political Activity (Hatch Act)] "Office of Special Counsel" -- A discussion of restrictions on political activity by federal government employees.
* [http://www.dominopower.com/directory/articles/1002/1074/1074.html White House Email Controversy] "DominoPower and OutlookPower Magazines" -- A detailed, non-political technical analysis special report.
* [http://www.emailsgone.com "Where Have All The Emails Gone? How Something As Seemingly Benign as White House Email Can Have Freaky National Security Consequences"] --An in-depth book based on the "DominoPower" and "OutlookPower" articles, plus a website with detailed forensic sources on the controversy.
* Jesse Lee. [http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=494 House Speaker Pelosi's office writes about House Oversight Committee investigation] Links to deposition transcript of Susan Ralston, describing Karl Rove's use of non-White House accounts for government purposes, and link to the Oversight Committee's report. June 18, 2007.
* [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20080116/index.htm White House Admits No Back-Up Tapes for E-mail Before October 2003] National Security Archive, The George Washington University, January 16, 2008.