Court: White House Has 3 Days To Refute E-mail Request
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON — A federal court on yesterday gave White House officials three days to explain why they should not be required to make copies of all e-mails on computers in the executive office of the president.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola expressed concern that a large volume of electronic messages may be missing from White House computer servers. That’s the allegation made by two private groups that are suing the White House. Judge Facciola’s proposal would require the White House to make copies of all emails from the period between March 2003 and October 2005.
In his order, Judge Facciola pointed to the White House’s recent acknowledgment that it recycled computer backup tapes until October 2003. Recycling raises the possibility that any missing emails may not be recoverable. Another court order by Judge Facciola forced the White House to disclose that it had recycled computer backup tapes until October 2003. At a House committee hearing last month, a computer expert who previously worked at the White House called the EOP’s email system “primitive” and said it was set up in a way that created a high risk that data would be lost.
