White House Aides Tried to Hide E-mails, Lawmaker Charges

[rodeodance]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/03/white_house_aid.html

White House Aides Tried to Hide E-mails, Lawmaker Charges

March 26, 2007 2:22 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Non_business_emails_nr White House staff are using non-governmental e-mail addresses to avoid leaving a paper trail of their communications, a senior congressman charged Monday.

In a pair of letters Monday, House Oversight and Investigations Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, D.-Calif., asked the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign to preserve e-mails sent and received by White House officials using domains controlled by the two groups.

Waxman also asked the two to meet with his staff to explain how they handle e-mail accounts for government officials.

"Such e-mails written in the conduct of White House business would appear to be governmental records subject to preservation and eventual public disclosure," Waxman wrote.

The use of e-mail addresses from domains like "gwb43.com" by White House aides surfaced in the news earlier this month when the Justice Department released hundreds of e-mails between political appointees discussing the firing of several U.S. attorneys. E-mails from Scott Jennings, a deputy to White House political adviser Karl Rove, came from an address featuring the gwb43.com domain.

........................

Waxman also says these domains are used "georgewbush.com" and "rnchq.org".

[DURHAM D]

1. I keep wondering if Fitzgerald accessed the off-record emails

in the course of his investigation.

[gratuitous]

2. These e-mails represent a double bind for the Bushies

Either they were conducting official White House business on non-government servers, which is a no-no, or what they were doing wasn't "official" White House business and therefore not subject to any claim of Executive Privilege.

Inspector Waxman is hot on their trail, and the squealing of the piggies and their willingness to toss people overboard is indicative of just how close he is to running them to ground.

[vickitulsa]

5. Precisely!

There really is no good option for them, as there was no good option for Tricky Dick once the existence of the infamous "White House Audio Tapes" was made known to the public by true patriots sick of a criminal administration.

Of all the nastiness and crimes these latest thugs and warmongerers have committed, and in which they are now being discovered (dare I use the word "outed"? ;)), this one is so far bringing me the strongest sense of gratification. I admit to outright delight as I watch them continue to squirm and bluster and try to sound righteously defiant.

Their act is third rate and obviously so; and more Americans all the time are seeing right through their lies in their own defense!

Not all of those holding them to account now have truly clean hands themselves. I can't forget that; but at least I'm pleased beyond measure to see even the jaded pols who know how the game is played growing more appalled and outraged every day at the brazenness of this ugly, criminal administration.

"They can run but they can't hide!"

[texpatriot2004]

3. K & R nm

[corkhead]

4. Oh I am so tired of all of this. I am getting scandal fatigue

:sarcasm:

drip, drip, drip.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. chinese water torture is more fun when you control the water.

I love the beat of water on the forehead.