In 2007, during a Congressional investigation into the reasons behind the White House's firing of eight United States Attorneys, it was revealed that White House staffers had been using e-mail accounts provided by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to discuss official business. Many of the emails sent on RNC accounts were reportedly deleted, a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act.
Fast Facts:
- Emails sent by staffers concerning official business are required to be kept and archived
- Brought to attention of Congress by CREW
- CREW claims that over 5 million emails destroyed between 2003 and 2005
- Pre-2004 RNC policy was to delete emails after 30 days
- Staffers had been using private internet domain provided by RNC, gwb43.com
- Using non-governmental email accounts for official business is a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act
Key Dates
- March, 2007: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asks Representative Henry Waxman to investigate improper use of outside email accounts by White House staffers
- March 26, 2007: Waxman asks RNC to preserve emails
- April 12, 2007: White House announces that until 2004, RNC deleted emails after 30 days
- April, 2007: White House acknowledges that staffers improperly used outside email accounts
Potential Lawsuit
The advocacy groups National Security Archive and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) have filed lawsuits against the Office of the President in an attempt to recover these missing e-mails. In February of 2009, it was revealed that the Obama Administration has made efforts to stop this litigation, despite President Obama's repeated insistence on governmental transparency.Huffington Post: Obama Administration Trying To Kill Lawsuit Over...Emails (February 21, 2009)
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