The Growing White House Email Conspiracy

White House Email Conspiracy

We have a bona fide conspiracy of potentially far-reaching proportions happening in the White House right now, and because of sensationalist coverage of more "juicy" news items, seems to be passing by largely unnoticed by the average person.

Two items that are strong evidence of a conspiracy to shelter communications related to the back-room business of the running the White House.

1) External Email Systems: Several White House staffers, some of which report directly to the president, used unofficial email systems and non-governmental computers to exchange official policy and planning emails. This appears to have gone on since the administration came into office.

2) Official White House Emails Were Deleted: The private systems used by the White House staffers were designed to automatically delete old emails every 30 days. This is in contradiction to federal law that requires all official communications by White House staff to be securely retained.

The headlines related to this event are nothing short of breath-taking...

White House emails gone missing


Millions More Missing White House Emails


Leahy Doubts Bush Aides on Lost E-Mails


4 years of Rove e-mails are missing, GOP admits


Will Missing White House E-Mails Be Modern Version of Nixons Tapes?



Beyond the very serious issues of using unofficial email servers for government business, and deleting those emails, is the often unspoken and potentially much more serious issue, one of national security. Emails that likely contained sensitive information about the operation of the White House, information about the office of the president, and a myriad of related operational and/or day-to-day business items have been available to individuals outside the normal security clearance circles of government operations.

Clearly, there was an anticipation that these staffers would engage in exchanges that must not be discovered. The use of private computers and email systems indicates a premeditated intent to facilitate a communications method that could "disappear" if needed.

Publicly held corporations face serious legal repercussions if they do not retain company email. What "corporation" is (supposed to be) more publicly held than the U.S. Government?

Nice work.

I have been hearing smatterings of these covert communications and how it was illegal to send emails using unofficial domains like gwb43.org according to the Presidential Records Act. This is just more proof of corruption IMHO.

I was first skeptical about pursuing the firing of the prosecutor’s scandal, but now I see what happens when the rocks are over turned. It's amazing what you might find.

SO, with your technical knowledge of this stuff, even though the servers were deleting the emails after 30 days, do you think they can still be recovered? They said on CNN that computer forensic experts were going to be used to try to recover them. It would be my guess that there is the email equivalent to document shredding happening as we speak.

[edit on 4/13/2007 by Hal9000]

Originally posted by Hal9000
SO, with your technical knowledge of this stuff, even though the servers were deleting the emails after 30 days, do you think they can still be recovered?

Unlikely...

If this is a bona fide conspiracy, and these systems were deliberately used to shelter communications that should disappear, they would have been designed to prevent forensic recovery.

And it's not hard... in fact, it's very simple. All that needs to happen is the use of an e-mail server with a small hard drive that can't store much more than 30 days in the first place.

Data recovery can only happen if the deleted file still exists on the hard drive (when you delete, you don't actually erase, you just remove the file from your OS's index).

On a small hard drive, the automated removal tool deletes old emails, and new emails overwrite the old files, and bam... hard-removal without any suspicious activity.

A smart insider developing a system to protect certain users from email subpoenas would design it in this way. Simple. Clean. Perfect.

Frankly, why doesn't Congress just demand that the NSA and the appropriate telecom entity provide a copy of the deleted emails in question.

I think it's time for the popcorn, I have been following this along with Alberto Gonzales testimony's on C-Span. This email scandal looks like big trouble for the Decider and gang.

The Emails the White House Doesn't Want You to See
The U.S Attorney firings provide more evidence of the Bush administration avoiding its own email system (and accountability, posterity, prosecution).

Google Video Link

[edit on 13/4/2007 by Sauron]

I'm wondering who they are trying to fool saying these mails either got accidentaly deleted or mysteriously disapeared.

Anyone who is in IT knows that on a high importance system like that (and these days actualy ANY system), the only way for data to get permanently deleted or lost is when its professionally and deliberatly removed from the system.

If they said this as a coverstory for the public I would say ok, they might actualy believe it, but I'm fairly certain that the IT staffers of the people who are running the investigation informed their bosses right away that "loosing emails" is a bold and completely transparant lie.

They could just as well have simply said "we won't give them to you because then we're really screwed".

This constitutes deliberate destruction of evidence which last time I checked falls under the federal crime of obstruction of justice.

Isn't that enough right there to kick those jackasses out of the whitehouse?

[edit on 13/4/07 by thematrix]

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
A smart insider developing a system to protect certain users from email subpoenas would design it in this way. Simple. Clean. Perfect.

That's why the paperless government always had me worried, the old days your would have to do it Berger style, now one removable drive, which stores much more information than one could carry is gone in the blink of an eye!!

Sure, destruction of files was done in the past but with the technology used today it is far to easy for this destruction to occur.

Four years of email history gone!!!!!
"it's unfortunate that this occurred but we will form a blue ribbon panel (yeah that's it), to investigate and get back to you in a couple of years"...sarcasm

Private sector are held to account for this type of "email Houdini act", but our runaway train of what used to be OUR government is free to do as they please...

...BTW Congress is trying to make financial disclosure files entirely electronic as well eliminating the required paper form report which is then input into a database.


[edit on 2007/4/13 by JacKatMtn]

Could this tie in with the shredding TRUCKS that frequent cheneys abode?



ATSers always ask for a credible source. Now where do we turn to for official information. If we are alive, I mean the human race, in 500 years, I wonder what the history books[or uploaded mind data] will say...




Down with Eurasia!...or is it Eastasia...





ummm...uhhh...well damn them both! Oceania prevails!

I am not as seasoned as you guys in terms of these conspiracies and posting but I do love to look over what you guys have to say...now I being from Canada - beautiful British Columbia, I do get a lot of news and stories relating to the issues of the US government


Now I am just wondering how long it will take with all these mountains and mountains of issues, conspiracies, tell-alls, and other just real screw ups will it take before some real action is taken.

I work for eBay and we are told that every email we send, every keystroke we make is saved - now we are a multi national company so like most of these we have quality control...where is the quality control in the government? how can you just go in and remove and delete emails and information like this?

the web site -www.madcowprod.com-has more info on the never ending white house cover-ups....and -www.cloakanddagger- is always right on top of things with the federal whistle blowers telling it like it is, really needs to be looked at for your reading pleasure into the facts of every issue.

Do any of you think Bush has the purported 30 some odd percent support they say the polls show?? I just don't buy it...after all the scandals of this administration from the dubious election results, lying about WMD, Torture, outing CIA ops, etc, etc, who are these people that still think this nightmare of a president is doing a good job???

worst president ever.

Makes Nixon look like a choirboy.

I'm not buying this excuse they are using that technology has moved too fast and they haven't updated their guidelines on communication. They are hiding something.

Let's pretend this was true for a moment, and if it were then they are incompetent for not updating communication procedures as technology changed.

This should be added to the list of incompetence by our government.

1) Failing to act on intelligence for 9/11.

2) Faulty intelligence on WMD's in Iraq.

and now.

3) Outdated guidelines on government communications.

Tell me any CEO who would still be holding his job after all this incompetence? In fact, to this day, no-one has ever been held accountable for any incompetence for any of these failures.

They are either lying or incompetent. Either way, something needs to be done.

[edit on 4/13/2007 by Hal9000]

10 bucks says that the reason for the email deletion was "classified for homeland security reasons" and the patriot act will be used as the justification.

Thanks SO!!

Rove. Seems like every time something sketchy comes up in DC his name pops up right along with it. I'm registered Independent so the Republican hit squads can save their pixels --- but when do we impeach these people? What do they have to do before they actually have to answer for any of this?

Originally posted by whaaa
10 bucks says that the reason for the email deletion was "classified for homeland security reasons" and the patriot act will be used as the justification.

It's even worse.

But she also said, "I will admit it. We screwed up, and we're trying to fix it."

source

They are not even trying to say that it is classified or a matter of national security. They just don't care. It seems like they are daring anybody to do something about it
"Yeah, we deleted them, whatta ya gonna do about it?"
That's how I'm reading this, anyway.



ps. topic also being discussed here

Originally posted by Watchful1
Could this tie in with the shredding TRUCKS that frequent cheneys abode?



ATSers always ask for a credible source. Now where do we turn to for official information. If we are alive, I mean the human race, in 500 years, I wonder what the history books[or uploaded mind data] will say...




Down with Eurasia!...or is it Eastasia...




ummm...uhhh...well damn them both! Oceania prevails!

i always appreciate a good 1984 reference!

[edit on 13-4-2007 by reaganero]

Originally posted by whaaa
10 bucks says that the reason for the email deletion was "classified for homeland security reasons" and the patriot act will be used as the justification.

that could be one layer of excuse,
another layer they may have to pull outta the hat is that
'peacetime protocols' regarding e-mail retention was suspended
the day Congress gave the executive office the authority to wage war against terror, liberate Iraq, etc etc.

Hello to one and all. I'd like to take a moment to share some food for thought.

Under current Federal law, Congress may subpoena the records generated by any communications system which is payed for by tax dollars. Private scitizens can also do this through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Just be aware that you may get a rather large bill for reproduction costs.

As a former Federal civil servant, I can tell you that "the official record" is never what it seems. Federal records integrity has always been an issue. Savvy politicians and bureaucrats are always aware of what they put on paper or in an e-mail. Face-to-face meetings are the preferred method of stealth policy. A quiet conversation around the water cooler or in hallways...or a stairwell...can allow supervisors to give instructions without going "on the record."

If you're outraged now, what I have say next will boil your blood. There is an entire unofficial communications network in place inside every Federal agency. Cell phones, blackberries, and other hand-held devices of all sorts which are NOT government property are used every hour of every day by politicians and bureaucrats to transmitt orders and data. It was once jokingly called "sneaker net." I don't know if that term is still in use today.

It's not unusual for politicians and bureaucrats to have more than one cell phone, or blackberry. The "official unit," and the...other one that doesn't exist. In the modern world, its not uncommon for lobbyists to give out cells phones to their preferred clients. It's not payed for with tax dollars, which 'protects' it under civilian law. Law enforcement officials who find out about somebody's covert phone or e-mail account must still get a warrant...unless...the person they are surveilling can be classified as a national security risk.

Provisions in the USA Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act, among other pieces of legislation, do make it possible for police and intelligence agencies to sneak and peak without warrants, but tha gets dicy when the person is not classified as a terrorist threat. As you know, its not hard to get that classification. Anyone can be placed on a watch list for just about any reason.

The brutal truth is that its not illegal for politicians and bureaucrats to use off-site comms and data storage. I did it when I worked for Uncle Sam, and I was nobody important. As of right now, most Federal agencies tap all phone calls and trap all electronic correspondence. Whenever you send a note from off-site to your wife or girlfriend, it gets made part of the official public record. Politicians and bureaucrats do this as a form of CYA to create alibis...when necessary, of course.

There will come a time when the Federal work force is more closely monitored than it already is, but the fact is that politicians will always have an "out." As technologies change, they will continue to have flexible options that you may know about...but...you won't be able to touch them.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by Hal9000
SO, with your technical knowledge of this stuff, even though the servers were deleting the emails after 30 days, do you think they can still be recovered?

Unlikely...

If this is a bona fide conspiracy, and these systems were deliberately used to shelter communications that should disappear, they would have been designed to prevent forensic recovery.

Agreed... 100%. Like SO, I have a background in networks and computers. And I was NOT surprised in the least to hear about all the missing emails. I imagine they went missing just about the time that the poop hit the scoop.

Data recovery can only happen if the deleted file still exists on the hard drive (when you delete, you don't actually erase, you just remove the file from your OS's index).

And, of course, destroy the backup archives by 'accidentally' reusing the tapes, etc.

Although I would bet that the "lost emails" are done more ham-handedly. I expect that an investigation will turn up a pro-Bush computer geek who right about now is dancing like mad to get rid of the evidence.

A pity they won't let US go investigate their IT department.

Originally posted by Justin Oldham
The brutal truth is that its not illegal for politicians and bureaucrats to use off-site comms and data storage.

From what I've been reading about this affair, it is illegal if you work for the White House, Congress, or the Judiciary. Any email communication between staffers that touches on even a small aspect of thier responsibilities must be retained.

I know it's far less strict for lower levels of civil employment... but not these guys.