Perspective: An e-mail connection to White House wrongdoing?

The House Oversight Committee has been investigating whether White House officials violated the Presidential Records Act by using e-mail accounts maintained by the Republican National Committee and the Bush Cheney '04 campaign.

Investigators first learned that White House officials might be using RNC e-mail accounts to avoid creating a record of official communications during the Oversight Committee's inquiry last year into White House contacts with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The committee recently issued its interim staff report, and its preliminary findings are worthy of consideration.

The highlights include the following:

• The number of White House officials provided with RNC e-mail accounts was higher than previously disclosed. Indeed, while in March 2007 a White House representative stated that only a handful of officials had RNC e-mail accounts, the committee learned from the RNC that at least 88 White House officials had such accounts.

• White House officials made extensive use of their RNC e-mail accounts. For example, the RNC has preserved 140,216 e-mails sent or received by presidential adviser Karl Rove; more than half of these e-mails, 75,374 to be exact, were sent to or received from individuals using official .gov e-mail accounts.

While the president wields power, such power cannot be wielded in secret and in violation of the Presidential Records Act.

• There has been extensive destruction of e-mails of White House officials by the RNC. The report sets forth that of the 88 White House officials who obtained RNC e-mails accounts, the RNC failed to preserve e-mails for as many as 51 of these officials. To top this off, the report summarizes that there were major gaps in the e-mail records of the 37 White House officials for whom the RNC did preserve e-mails.

As if this weren't enough, the report concludes that there is evidence that the Office of the White House Counsel under Alberto Gonazales may have known that White House officials were using RNC e-mail accounts for official business but did not take any action to preserve these presidential records.

The Presidential Records Act requires the president to "take all such steps as may be necessary to assure that the activities, deliberations, decisions and policies that reflect the performance of his constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties are adequately documented...and maintained as presidential records."

Given the findings reflected above, not surprisingly, the committee concludes that evidence indicates White House officials used their RNC e-mail accounts to get around these requirements. This is a problem. Presidential records must be maintained as a matter of law and as a way for the American public to truly know what the president is up to.

Yet, here, it is not even possible to determine at this point "precisely how many presidential records may have been destroyed by the RNC," according to the committee, and "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."

The committee now recommends that the records of federal agencies should be examined to assess whether they may contain some of the White House e-mails destroyed by the RNC.

Also, it wants a review to determine whether Gonzales knew about the use of political e-mail accounts by White House officials. There may need to be a compulsory process to obtain the cooperation of the campaign, which so far has refused to provide the committee with basic information about e-mail accounts it provided to 11 White House officials.

While the president wields power, such power cannot be wielded in secret and in violation of the Presidential Records Act. The Oversight Committee should continue its investigation to determine finally whether that indeed happened.

Biography
Eric J. Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris. His focus includes information technology and intellectual-property disputes. To receive his weekly columns, send an e-mail to [e-mail] with "Subscribe" in the subject line. This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only, and it should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's law firm or its individual partners.

More Perspectives

[BroJohn]

Missing Email another conspiracy???

I have to admit that I am amazed that the Democrats are going to continue to destroy this President. Over and over again, investigation after investigation, and the man is still President, the world is still going to hades in a hand basket, and the Congress of the United States, has nothing better to do than look for missing emails. Do they really think that there has been a huge conspiracy here to cover up heinous acts of treason?
Please let the President finish out his term in office, he can't run again, let's get our borders protected, and get on with the business of the people.

[Chevaliermusic]

Are You Kidding?

Ofcourse we have to check this out. Do we really want to find out about possible major problems AFTER the president leaves office? Even if there is no "conspiracy", laws have been broken, or should these guys receive special treatment? If so, I want my money back from my local state trooper/court system (I admit I was speeding - wish our electorate would admit win they've done something wrong).

[riodejaneiro2007]

Conspiracy...

I'm not amazed all all that the democrats are going after dumb
and dumber and their BFFs.

Would you have made the same comment about the republicans
when Clinton was in office? 8 wasted years.

As for dumber running for President again, the constitution
hasn't been changed to allow that yet. Can dumber issue an
executive order to make that happen or can the supreme court
(looks like the head might not have been the best choice after-
all) do that? LOL

Protect borders? Give me a break. Business wants cheap labor
and both the donkeys and elephants want votes.

The law should apply to everyone including dumb, dumber and
BFFs. However, they don't talk and we have no proof and never
will.

[vhac]

Bush for 3rd term and foreverrrrrrrrr

"Please let the President finish out his term in office, he can't run again, let's get our borders protected, and get on with the business of the people."
Why? I think we should change the constitution so the president Bush can stay until he wins the war on terror. I seem to recall many Republicans' argument for not electing Kerry for president is that we shouldn't change horse midstream, in the middle of the war. Therefore, I support Bush for the 3rd term, and 4th term, and forever until we win the war on terror.
Aside all this, you really think that it's all right if the Democrat president do the same thing??
We need to know what the president do (regardless of party line)

[American 1st]

Really?!

Three out of four Americans can't be wrong: This Administration is the worst in U.S. history. Dick Cheney said at the time of Watergate and the pending Nixon impeachment: "This will never happen again." The lengths that this Administration has gone to hide what they've been doing is literally unbelievable. Halliburton moved to Dubai because we have no extradition treaty with them. Cheney will skitter off to that place come January. The breaking of laws to an absolutely unprecedented rate by this Insane Clown Posse (no offense to the ridiculous musical group) is a national tragedy. These Saudi butt-puppets need to be hung publicly.

[devbost]

I remember 18 minutes of missing tape...

...helped to illuminate the vast and widespread wrongdoing on another president.

The law is quite clear on the matter. Emails must be preserved for the public record. By using Republican Party email servers, not only has this requirement been flouted, but it also raises questions of security. Are the RNC's email servers protected as well as the White House's email servers presumably are?

Rather than blame those in Congress who are trying to do their jobs and exercise the oversight they are charged with providing, why don't you place the blame on those in the Executive Branch who knew what the rules were and apparently chose not to follow them?

It's as though you're saying that the investigation is more harmful to the country than the wrongdoing that is being investigated. I think you have it backwards.

[ordaj]

You're right. It wasn't a blowjob, after all.

What a crock.

[Dalkorian]

where to begin

BroJohn shared this thought with the world:

"Over and over again, investigation after investigation, and the
man is still President, the world is still going to hades in a hand
basket, and the Congress of the United States, has nothing
better to do than look for missing emails."

He's still president because he's quite good at covering up all his
illegal activities. For examples, just open the freakin newspaper.
The world is going to hades in a hand basket because of Bush
directly and it's Congress' job to keep the executive branch in
check. What part of this is so confusing to you?

"Please let the President finish out his term in office, he can't run
again, let's get our borders protected, and get on with the
business of the people."

He's not getting our borders protected. Period. He's not covering
the business of the people. Period. Letting him finish out his
term in office is laughable. They did that with Hitler too.

I can only hope and pray that you are somehow unable to vote.
The idea that someone so isolated from reality and ignorant of
the issues helping to decide our countries fate is disturbing
indeed.

The only way to fix this mess that Bush has created is to
impeach his entire administration and reverse every single "law"
he's enacted. Start over.

Or I guess we could throw the constitution into a funeral pyre
and submit to becoming a fascist police state.

[riodejaneiro2007]

Conspiracy...

Now that I think about it, dumb and dumber can admit wrong
doing, go to rehab and all will be okay. LOL

[tm10030]

Obvious violations of law

There are two laws in effect here. One requires the preservation of Presidential records. The other prohibits use of government property for campaigning. The excuse for the RNC email accounts is to prevent violations of the latter. But in that case, no emails should ever go from the RNC account to a .gov one, or the other way. Policy matters must be preserved, which the RNC accounts weren't set up to do. Campaign matters must not use the .gov

The 75,000 plus emails sent to or from Rove's RNC account can only be legal if they violate neither law. This is only possible if they concern only personal, non-campaign and non-policy matters. I find it unlikely that 75,000 plus emails were sent discussing the weather, "how's the wife and kids" and dinner plans. All of those emails that discuss policy or campaigning definitely violate one of those laws.

[hadaso]

Perhaps they also used their own cellphones ...

Perhaps they also used their own cellphones and haven't recorded all their conversations for the record? Or perhaps they might have erased their voice mail?

[pakurilecz]

Where was the outrage

from the Democrats when the Clinton White House was having problems with their emails? Want some fun reading then check out the GAO report
ELECTRONIC RECORDS
Clinton Administration?s Management of Executive Office of the President?s E-Mail System
GAO #01-0446
www.gao.gov/new.items/d01446.pdf

[dlsweb]

Did you hear?

I have also heard the bridge that fell was President Bush's fault too.

[putinsky]

Wrongdoing??????

Lets look at the DNC email accounts, just for kicks

[geekpro]

Impeachment

now.

[punterjoe]

Impeachment?

Yeah, President Cheney will solve everything. :P