Watchdog: Bush White House ignored e-mail archiving problem

CREW’s report is based on the documents provided in response to the lawsuit and found the missing e-mails included some that were sought by the Department of Justice in its investigation of the leaking of Valerie Plame’s secret CIA identity. The files were also missing from the backup tapes of that period, and the Bush White House exempted the inbox of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was convicted in relation to the Plame affair, from being restored.

“Sadly, the American people will never know the full truth of just what went on inside the Bush White House as decisions affecting all of our lives were made,” Sloan said. “Despite repeated warnings that information was being lost, Bush administration officials repeatedly and willfully turned a blind eye to the problem.”

The report also notes the National Archives and Record Administration was one of several sources that warned the Bush White House the e-mails were at risk for destruction. The report also claims the White House spent millions of dollars under Bush developing an effective electronic record-keeping system, only to abandon it without a reasonable explanation on the eve of its deployment.