Computer experts point to White House failures in e-mail controversy

[lanlady]

Source: AP via Government Executive

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For President Bush, who expresses disdain for e-mail, the White House system of electronic record-keeping is a good match.

Even if Bush used e-mail, it might get lost in the problem-plagued White House computer system.

"I don't want you reading my personal stuff," the president explained to newspaper editors three years ago on why he doesn't send electronic messages.

On Capitol Hill and in federal court, a congressional committee and two private groups are pushing for information on how the White House has handled its e-mail for the past six years and whether officials there complied with records-retention laws.

The picture emerging from testimony and court filings is one of disregard for fundamental principles that well-run private companies adhere to routinely. By one estimate, over 1,000 days of e-mail are missing from various White House offices.

Read more: http://govexec.com/dailyfed/0308/030308ap1.htm

---

E-mail archiving is not rocket science. Back up automatically to tape, and store the tapes in a tape library. Duh. I refuse to believe this was due to negligence or bad techies; it's deliberate sabotage in order to erase the historical record, and a criminal violation of the government's own laws.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Not fishy at all.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "Smirk." - Commander AWOL

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. F10

Function 10- Turn on white ear piece behind right ear.

[truthisfreedom]

3. "I don't want you reading my personal stuff." Did someone forget to explain to this turd that the

presidency is a PUBLIC OFFICE and he works for US?

[C_U_L8R]

5. Send a data forensics crew in there

they'll find those emails in a jiffy.

And impound the individual pcs, laptops and blackberrys while you're at it.
The emails were once on the sender's machine, once on the server, and once on the receivers machine
There no concievable way that they lost (or erased) all that without a some trace of evidence.

And if all fails, pull the NSA tapes... they've been scooping all the internet traffic there is.
The emails are surely there.

Congress, C'mon. Get with it. You can find em if you want to.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. The White House System...

is a Microsoft Exchange system, which is most likely whay M$ calls a "cluster". That means there is a maximum of 4 email servers, each with email replication across the four, as well as a bunch of other servers that could well have grist for the forensic mill.

[Vyan]

10. So they finally

migrated from Lotus Notes, eh?

Vyan

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

16. Yup.

I did my homework on this when all this stuff first came out. Exchange. You can be sure there are lots of intermediate servers out there, befor the cluster, connecting a lot of different places in the Executive branch, too.

[Thor_MN]

23. I think when you are referring to the Bush White House, the proper term is "Clusterf@ck"

nt.

[tom_paine]

12. They don't want to...it's quite obvious.

What are they afraid of? An envelope of anthrax? A Bush Lie Campaign targeting them? Blackmail information gleaned from warrantless spying on the Democratic Opposition? Or is it just the fact that there aren't enough honorable people who care about the Constittuion and Bill of Rights to fill up a city bus?

It doesn't matter. The Democratic Leadership is afraid, maybe complicit.

They don't want to prosecute, they are afraid to prosecute, and even if they did, our corrupt judiciary would probably tank the case for their Bushie masters no matter the facts, like that Bushie Pig Crminal masquerading as a judge who overturned the Bushie Conviction in the NH Phone Jamming Case.

It doesn't matter. The Democrats are afraid to find it, don't want to find it, and even if they did would be afraid to prosecute, no matter how ironclad the evidence.

Sorry, that's just how it is. Don't blame the messenger.

[aquart]

7. Bush deliberately STOPPED using email when he took office.

It was reported in the news. Unless my memory is completely gone, they even reported that it was BECAUSE there was no privacy in it for the president.

[Vyan]

11. Hey claimed that he doesn't

and Poppa Bush has repeated that claim, but more recent reports indicates that he *does* use email, only it's very likely not on the White House System (where it could be subject to oversight) and is instead been using RNC provided servers like GWB.com the same way the Karl Rove has.

[aquart]

14. That I believe.

Does Georgie have a cute little personal Blackberry like all his friends?

[yardwork]

18. Cheney and Rove certainly did not stop using email - and theirs are the ones I want to see.

[classysassy]

8. The congress

are the people being served by our runaway congress,the enable the Bush/Chaney gang to trample our laws,shame on all of you crooks?.

[leftchick]

9. does bushco** pay the AP for this horseshit

:grr:

[tom_paine]

13. They don't have to. AP is shot through with Bushie Paid operatives.

Even if it isn't, the media has been tamed. Gleitschaltung, the 1930s Bushies called it. It's always a "mistake" when Bushies are caught breaking the law, that is assumed "conventional wisdom". With a National Government that operates like a kinder and gentler Mafia, what recourse do they or we have?

[spanone]

15. 'missing' bwahahahahaa 'missing' bwahahaa

[MaryCeleste]

17. Its not just the piss poor WH system, its that many staffers were also using an RNC system

that had no backup requirements.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

19. IF WE HAD A REAL CONGRESS, THERE WOULD BE HEARINGS

AND BUSHCO WOULD GO TO PRISON.

ALSO, THE MEDIA WOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR COLLUSION.

[nc_gadfly]

20. "'I don't want you reading my personal stuff,' the president explained..."

I don't want you reading my personal stuff either, ASSHOLE.

[Hekate]

21. Ahem. It's not a failure if it's intentional. Winning through incompetence. nt

[MasonJar]

22. Well, you phony ba---ard, we don't want you reading or hearing our

private conversations either, but you do it anyway.