Couric & Co.
June 19, 2007 10:48 AM

E-mails? What e-mails??

(CBS)
Lawyer Andrew Cohen analyzes legal affairs for CBS News and CBSNews.com.
Let’s play a game this Tuesday. See if you can guess who/which organization offered this gem: “The rule of law, the very foundation for a free society, has been under assault, not only by criminals from the ground up, but also from the top down. An administration that lives by evasion, coverup, stonewalling, and duplicity has given us a totally discredited Department of Justice. The credibility of those who now manage the nation’s top law enforcement agency is tragically eroded. We are fortunate to have its dedicated career workforce, especially its criminal prosecutors, who have faced the unprecedented politicization of decisions regarding both personnel and investigations.”

Is the answer: 1) A Democratic loudmouth on the Senate Judiciary Committee? 2) A smarmy Democratic presidential candidate? 3) The relentless folks from moveon.org? 4) That guy on HBO who is less funny than he thinks he is? Nope. The correct answer is, surprise surprise, the 2000 Republican National Platform. That’s right. The platform upon which President George W. Bush first ran for and won the presidency contained precisely the sort of language that his most strident critics might be tempted to use today as the U.S. Attorney scandal swirls downward to a whole new level.

I found the quote researching Monday’s news from the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which issued a draft report highly critical of the White House’s use of Republican National Committee email accounts for official business. Worse, many of those emails now apparently are missing, which means that White House officials were effectively able through use of their RNC accounts to make an end-run around the Presidential Records Act. Their communications now are not part of the historical record of the Bush Administration, circa 2001-2009, despite the federal law that requires the maintenance of such records.

The White House said Monday that the RNC accounts were used so that government officials could not be accused of violating the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits federal employees from using governmental facilities (like email accounts) for partisan political purposes. And, indeed, if all this were about were White House officials using partisan political email accounts to conduct partisan political business it would be no big deal. But this story is about a lot more because investigators now will be unable to determine fully whether or not those RNC accounts were used for official (i.e. taxpayer-funded business).

Even if you are unwilling to assume the worst, which is that these officials purposely used their RNC email accounts to evade their legal duties under the Records Act, the result is unacceptable. One of the ways in which we can hold accountable our public officials is to be able, contemporarily or retrospectively, to check upon the details of their day-to-day work on our behalf. You take away the chance to check the books and you take away a large part of the oversight function that the President Records Act was designed to ensure.

In other words, the Hatch Act and the Presidential Records Act were never meant to be mutually exclusive. White House officials for decades have been able to comply with both. People wonder why Congressional Democrats keep pushing ahead with the U.S. Attorney investigation. Monday’s dismaying news about hidden emails is just one of many reasons.


Tags:
white house ,
bush ,
e-mails
Topics:
Field Notes

Video and Galleries

Add a Comment See all 52 Comments
by anonymous118 June 19, 2007 1:01 PM PDT
Nerff,

All he did was quote the Repugs won platform. It seems like they are the one who have no credibility.
Reply to this comment
by mbcsmith June 19, 2007 1:09 PM PDT
Any PROOF that official business was conducted hrough the RNC accounts? No? I thought not.
Reply to this comment
by DrColes June 19, 2007 1:12 PM PDT
President Clinton fired all the U.S. Attorneys when he took office and placed his cronies in office. The U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President and can be replaced at his pleasure, period. This is a non-issue. The author should stop being a political hack.
Reply to this comment
by orneryguy-2009 June 19, 2007 1:41 PM PDT
what you morons fail to acknowledge is that regardless of whether anything wrong was done or not, regardless of who is in the position or what party is in office, you need TRANSPARENCY to gaurantee that there are no shenanigans going on. It is the dedicated right's refusal to hold their own accountable for anything that make's them the puppets and fools of their own party.
Reply to this comment
by koran5-2009 June 19, 2007 2:03 PM PDT
Presidential Records Act just defined the ownership of President records, didn't say what records are official, and neither the communications through private or partisian channel should be kept if they are not deemed as official records.
Reply to this comment
by sassenach1-2009 June 19, 2007 2:14 PM PDT
Is this "Game" like who gave the 1992 campaign speeches concerning GHWB not doing enough about Saddam Hussein and the terroists in Iraq?

Answer: Al Gore, Jr.

These speeches are now on YouTube.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 2:21 PM PDT
I feel sorry for the small percentage of people on the Right who still blindly support Bush-Cheney. Due to the corrupt nature of this administration, their apologists must not only explain away the misdeeds undertaken by Rove, Gonzales et al designed to hide their criminal behavior, they must also defend an 'above the law' mindset that slides dangerously close to fascism. GOPers and other folks 'right of center', please keep in mind, unless you're extremely wealthy ($5M or greater) you are supporting policies that are against your own interests. Do you understand this or does your robotic flag waving create a hypnotic trance that shuts down your brain activity? Just asking.
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 2:41 PM PDT
I heard Dan Rather has the emails.
Reply to this comment
by p_castine June 19, 2007 2:55 PM PDT
"President Clinton fired all the U.S. Attorneys WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE..."

Yes, Dr. Cole, when he took office. As did Ronald Reagan before him and Shrub in his wake (facts the Bush apologencia prefers to ignore).

No previous administration in the history of the US has fired US Attorneys en masse once the post-inauguration hiring cycle is over. And not even the Nixon administration engaged in the amount of blatant disregard for the law practiced by the current one, of which the disappearing emails is but one small example.


Reply to this comment
by docadams3 June 19, 2007 3:02 PM PDT
stevejbons: "Dangerously close to fascism," was a long time ago. They're way over the line now. We need to ensure that they leave office when the Constitution says they should. Thank God for presidential term limits.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 3:07 PM PDT
Karl Rove GOP Playbook: When confronted with the fact that their presidential candidate George Bush chose to go AWOL in 1969 instead of serving his country, what did Right Wingers do? They attacked the messenger and tried to destroy Dan Rather for mistakenly using one forged document in the CBS News coverage of Bush's disgraceful abandonment of his mandatory National Guard service. This issue was (and is) "why did he go AWOL?" and didn't that make him "unfit for command"? The past six years of the disasterous Bush-Cheney administration provide your answer.
Reply to this comment
by drcloutier June 19, 2007 3:08 PM PDT
I agree with stevejbons - I feel sorry for the Republicans that are still blindly supporting a president and administration that has a record of scandals and lies equal to that of Warren G. Harding. Anyone that is aware of presidential history and constitutional politics know that a new president will bring in all new appointments at the onset of his (her?) administration. To fire en masse towards the ending of 2 terms is so OBVIOUSLY subjective, sneaky and suspicious that those that are supporting Gonzalez are blinder than the ostrich with his head in the sand. So sad for you, so sad.
Reply to this comment
by lobotomy42-2009 June 19, 2007 3:11 PM PDT
I always have to chuckle when I hear politicians and other actors refer to the "American People" knowing or caring about anything. As a whole, we're too busy shopping to notice much of anything that's happening to our country and our so-called democracy nowadays. For you Republican posters, I think your efforts to compare this debacle with the Clinton administration would be laughable if they didn't mean that you're gung-ho about more killing, chaos, and imperialism. For you Democratic posters, I'm waiting for Congress to grow a backbone. Any idea when that might happen?
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 3:14 PM PDT
stevejbons: Wow your a real conspiracy theorist. Fascism, boy, have they knocked down the doors of your home, and dragged you out on to the streets. Maybe they executed someone you know in front of their families. You politically correct, secular progressives are everything that%u2019s wrong with this country. Not that I agree with George Bush. Frankly I find him to be a spineless jellyfish. But I really think your crowd is the real danger to America
Reply to this comment
by drcloutier June 19, 2007 3:19 PM PDT
No ***! Democrats in Congress need to realize that they DO have the support they need, forget about being re-elected in 2, 4 or 6 years and as was said before me, GROW A SPINE!! It boggles my mind that the righties that blindly support this administration STILL act as if dissention is un-patriotic and that we should not have a problem with "big brother" if we're not terrorists. I swear Thomas Jefferson AND Alexander Hamilton (archnemeses) would even agree on the insanity of this. What freedom of ours is being protected in Iraq when the freedom we have here is being snuck away? Oh yeah, to reiterate another's statement - most Americans are too busy buying *** and feeding their fat *****.
Reply to this comment
by lobotomy42-2009 June 19, 2007 3:25 PM PDT
We're of the same mind DrCloutier - and may I add "watching American Idol and every other mindless distraction being pushed out to us." Wake-up calls have been sounding for years now and all I hear from the American People is "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
Reply to this comment
by drcloutier June 19, 2007 3:29 PM PDT
Hey, not all "secular progressives" think that we live in a fascist country. Fascism is a political theory that says the state is the be-all end-all of every decision for the country, aka - authoritarian dictatorship. To call the Bush admin fascist may not be true in the sense of secret police ripping people from their homes, etc. but the manipulation of the law and trying to act above the law is definitely leaning in that direction. Bush/Cheney et. al. have definitely tried to give privilege to the Executive office, even at the expense of hte other two branches, and that is NOT a constitutional democracy.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 3:33 PM PDT
Karl Rove GOP Playbook (continued): When confronted with a rational argument, label the other person with as many (emotionally-charged) adjectives as you can think of: 'conspiracy theroist', 'politically correct',
'secularist', 'dangerous', etc. Again, as in your previous Dan Rather posting, ayla01 you desperately avoid directly confronting your own worst fears: your chosen leadership has abondoned you and your ideals while stealing you blind. 'Fascism' is too strong a word? Read this: http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
Reply to this comment
by drcloutier June 19, 2007 3:39 PM PDT
I love the Karl Rove playbook. Too funny.
Reply to this comment
by lobotomy42-2009 June 19, 2007 3:42 PM PDT
postmodern - a view that social and cultural reality, as well as social science itself, is a human construction (http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth370/gloss.html)

Karl Rove has created a Postmodern State for us - one in which all truth is relative, science is practiced by members of just another interest group, and reality is whatever the Powerful want it to be.
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 3:52 PM PDT
My worst fears Stevejbons is that we will return to the Clintonista days where we ignored the threats against us and were more concerned with the rights of terrorists than the safety of Americans. I don%u2019t know about you but I am not threaten by secret wire taps, or tracing money transactions. Why! Because I have nothing to fear in the way I live my life.
Reply to this comment
by drcloutier June 19, 2007 3:57 PM PDT
Well, you know, scientists' are an interest group. They are interested in finding a cure for cancer, AIDS and hear disease. Oh, and obesity since 2/3rds of our population can't seem to stop eating without a stomach staple. Americans are so placated with wealth, yes even those that make only 20K a year a wealthier than most of the planet, and placated with TV and youtube to really care about what Karl Rove says, or lies, rather.
Reply to this comment
by lobotomy42-2009 June 19, 2007 3:58 PM PDT
My friend Ayla01, if you are so frightened about the terrorist threat, then why are you not outraged about the spread of Al Qaeda and its sympathizers that has occurred as a direct result of our Iraq War and international policy? Do you really believe that terrorists can be crushed by the power of our military? Are you really that deluded? No offense, but I think you have watched too many Rambo movies or spent too much time as a child creating winner-take-all battles with your GI Joe action figure. Please wake up and smell the blood before it's too late.
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 4:00 PM PDT
As for the perceived threats to your freedoms, what are you worrying about. Have they violated your privacy, searched your home, tapped your phone. You have less rights at a Driving While Intoxicated check point by your local police. I could care less about George Bush, Karl Rove and the rest of those dim wits. Soon they will be gone. I just hope we don%u2019t get another politically correct coward in charge.
Reply to this comment
by drcloutier June 19, 2007 4:01 PM PDT
Apparently ayla01 never read 1984 or Brave New World. I guess she's only read Coulter. Maybe Savage. Or, O'Reilly?
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 4:02 PM PDT
Karl Rove GOP Playbook (further reading): When confronted with criticism of your party's leadership, deflect valid arguments by demonizing previous administrations, always of the other party. This logic holds that no matter how incompetent, corrupt or evil the cabal running the country into the ground is, it was or could be worse ('Clintonista', 'defending the rights of terrorists'). The beauty of this ploy is that your statements need not make any sense, and, like the frog boiling to death in gradually heated water, the public is encouraged to never question the ethics or motivations of the current leadership while their right to do so is removed by law or through fear and intimidation.
Reply to this comment
by lobotomy42-2009 June 19, 2007 4:07 PM PDT
Ayla01, there are countries for you, but you'll have to make sure you're a member of the Powerful Class. If you can do that, you'll find a perfect world in which the Bad Guys (the one's who don't agree with your Class) have their wires tapped and legal rights suspended and the Good Guys (you and the rest of the Elite) are protected by body guards and have access to the best distractions - good food, fine wine and entertainment. One word of advice, though: Don't question authority!
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 4:09 PM PDT
No DrCloutier , I think you read too much. In fact I think you and your friend stevjbons are very very naove. You live in your own fantasy land, where we are all to blame for the worlds ills.
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 4:13 PM PDT
Lobotomy42: Yes their is a country for me, it's called America. On the other hand your's is called France.
Reply to this comment
by jedi08 June 19, 2007 4:13 PM PDT
Who cares about pointless emails. Its all about convience, not scandal. Carl Rove used those emails because he is constantly on his blackberry. So, spin it how you want, all these investigations will go nowhere, they are annoying the moderates and along with your unelectable dem nomine Billary Clinton, you will insure a republican president in 08.

Keep wasting our time congress, youll never make Bush look as bad as Clinton with Monica
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 4:17 PM PDT
Karl Rove GOP Playbook (large print edition): When confronted with anyone who differs from your worldview, especially someone who may read books and is suspected of having critical thinking skills, accuse them of not loving their country as much as you do. Ask them: "Why do you hate America?". Then tell them to move to France or Canada.
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 4:17 PM PDT
By the way Lobotomy42, here is an excerpt from your home land.

French security officials are worried that e-mails sent by government officials from a BlackBerry might be picked up by the US National Security Agency because the servers for BlackBerry mail are located in the United States and Britain, according to Le Monde.

here is the link http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070619180315.8tqqez2t&show_article=1
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 4:20 PM PDT
stevejbons I did not say you do not love America, In fact I am sure you do. You just do not have the stomach to defend it.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 4:38 PM PDT
Now its about "having the stomach to defend America". This is a topic that really shows the Bush-Cheney policies at their best. They win the trifecta on this one: 1. Let U.S. foreign policy be totally dictated by defense contractors, oil companies and special interests, 2. Spend hundreds of billions of dollars occupying a foreign nation to feed the military-industrial complex and cause a record spike in gasoline prices and 3. De-stablize the Middle East, inflame Islamic hatred toward us globally while dramatically increasing the chances of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and our domestic infrastructure. Well done, Bushie! Read about the National Intelligence Council reports here: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/26/al_qaeda_terrorism_in_iraq_foreseen/
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 19, 2007 4:54 PM PDT
Take a break stevejbons, wake up and smell the roses, wow your really going bonkers. Tell me do you wear glasses with mirrors so you can see who%u2019s behind you. We live in the greatest country in the world and you can%u2019t seem to appreciate it. All you see is threats to your personal privacy. You say we inflame Islamic hatred. Let%u2019s compare what we have given to humanity verses Islam. If not for America, they would not have Electricity, TV, Radio, Cars, Trucks, Airplanes, Lights, Doctors, medicine, water purification plants, the capability to extract their natural resources, computers, ships, telephone, etc, etc, etc. Well maybe we should take back all we have given to them so we don%u2019t inflame them anymore.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 5:03 PM PDT
You are now departing from the Karl Rove Playbook. Telling Islamic nations and the rest of the world that we will refuse to export American-made products to them is strictly against policy. Sorry, ayla01, but we're going to have to ask you to turn in your RNC membership card and Bill O'Reilly blog password. Oh, and leave your brown shirt on the hanger on your way out.
Reply to this comment
by lobotomy42-2009 June 19, 2007 5:25 PM PDT
Ayla42, I hope you don't feel outnumbered here, but I suspect you welcome the feeling that you are the only one who is brave enough to defend your country's security actions, decry its liberties, and promote its technological achievements. (Where to start? Cluster bombs, bunker busting nukes? "Doctors" is a good one, Ayla01 - you should read your medical history and look at the contribution Muslims made to medical science.) And I beg to differ with you on your country of choice. All the things your looking for can indeed be found here (suspended liberties, ethnocentrism, authoritarian rule, etc.), but those are not the ones our Founding Fathers celebrated in our Constitution. Those are the very things they were trying to get us away from. How quickly we forget.
Reply to this comment
by jimimosey June 19, 2007 6:03 PM PDT
"and AGAIN - just look at the freekin news. People are more upset over whether or not Paris Hilton serves her jail time than, well, than anything! Just ask random people, they don't know a *** thing about Karl Rove, Scooter Libby or Alberto Gonzalez. I guarantee it. And I mean about 70% of the population.
Posted by DrCloutier"

I would not be surprised if that same 70% believes that the world was created 6K years ago, that evolution is fantasy, *** are evil and should be jailed or "corrected," etc., etc. etc. As soon as Shrub is out of office there should be a government-wide purge of all political appointees placed in office by Brush admin. The corruption runs far and deep and needs careful study to weed out the moles. It seems fairly obvious from recent revelations that Bushies are placed at every level of government and will eventually rot the system from the inside.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 19, 2007 6:04 PM PDT
Jimimosey, I have to give credit for the Karl Rove Playbook concept to www.EvilGOPBastards.com Jack has a great website that I encourage people to support. As for a book based on exposing the Playbook, the real question is, why isn't the media revealing these baldfaced GOP strategies for what they are every single news cycle?
Reply to this comment
by jimimosey June 19, 2007 6:10 PM PDT
Are they perhaps complicit? Probably the same reason Dennis Kucinich's impeachment documents regarding *** Cheney receive no coverage in any of the major outlets. Page 6 outtakes, anyone? I look forward to perusing evilGOPbastards.com. Good stuff! Shine the light!!!
Reply to this comment
by ayla01 June 20, 2007 6:43 AM PDT
junkei: Where will you go? Why not try Sudan, I hear Dafur is lovely this time of the year and the Janjaweed milita would be happy to see you. Or perhaps France I believe they are getting ready for another car burning Festival. Or maybe you can move to Denmark, where cartoon writers have to live in hiding for fear of their lives and those who speak ill of Islam get stabbed to death in the streets. Yes, as you say their are so many better places to live than America. I also suggest you invite stevejbon and Lobotomy42 to join you.
Reply to this comment
by one_american June 20, 2007 11:43 AM PDT
If the lunatic Democrats REALLY believe that the public has a right to the White House emails - obviously for purposes of mining another faux "crisis" - then Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi should have no problem with making every last one of their emails part of the public domain, right Andrew Cohen?

Maybe the public could see the full extent of these two anti-American traitors, and the unethical, criminal minds of the Democrat majority.

Or are you just going to put on your Democrat Party blinders and ignore the jackasses who lead you around with a ring in your nose?
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 20, 2007 12:44 PM PDT
One_American_In_A_Brownshirt
Karl Rove GOP Playbook: When confronted with obvious signs of wrongdoing by your leaders, the best defense is offense. Attack, attack, attack! Never directly address salient points and evidence of chicanery, that just lends credibility to the allegations. Rather, endlessly point out how much worse everyone else simply must be. And always question the 'Americanism' of the opposition. Remember: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Heil Bush-Cheney!
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 20, 2007 12:51 PM PDT
ayla01
Karl Rove GOP Playbook (abridged edition): When challengers point out that you are incapable of independent thought and can't respond with anything but a knee-jerk reaction and to bow subserviently to your God-like leaders, tell your opponent to leave the country. Insist that since they dare question anyone in power or anything about their policies, it would simply be better if they surrendered their citizenship and lived elsewhere. After all, what do they think this is, a democracy? It isn't its a republic! (Which is why we can fix elections.) Then tell them to move to France or Canada.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 20, 2007 1:42 PM PDT
Wonder why so many folks on the Right can't spell? Could it have something to do with a lack of cognitive abilites and reasoning skills? Nah! And, yes, you are correct Mr. One_America_Right_Or_Wrong, as a matter of fact, I AM a "hipocrite, brown-shirted, swastika packing, goose-stepping liberal fascist moron" and *** proud of it! Now we've settled that, what are you doing to hold your (un)elected officals in the White House accountable? I imagine you must be sick to learn about the massive voter fraud of the last two general elections (its okay, it was in your party's favor!) Also, good people of the Right, if you've wondered why you are who you are, you may want to check out this entry in Wikipedia (probably a leftist plot to corrup our youth): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism
Reply to this comment
by one_american June 20, 2007 3:08 PM PDT
stevejbons:

I mistakenly left out delusional, myopic, and inconsequential.

Curse your own mother before you even think about cursing an American, you lunatic.
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 20, 2007 4:04 PM PDT
One_Dumb_America
Curses! We're surrounded by Lefties, boys! We've got nothin' else in our arsenal except to throw nasty descriptive adjectives at 'em! Oh, help me Dubya and Masser Cheney! Lord knows I'm passionate, but not very smart. Ah hopes we can rig the vote again in '08 or it's every fascist for himself!
Reply to this comment
by wobbly44 June 20, 2007 4:28 PM PDT

So why did the Founding Fathers include the Fourth Ammendment to the US Constitution preventing illegal searches if they had nothing to hide?
This is so silly, I can't even believe ayla is a real person- it seems that all of the replies are from a GOP magic 8 ball-

** Seems Likely**But Clinton did it**Move to France**Muslims are gonna kill us!!

Do you really think Muslims hate our freedoms? They hate the same freedoms YOU hate- access to porn, TV violence, " sexual immorality ". Many of you holy roller GOP nut jobs are just the same as these Wahabbi nut jobs.
Maybe you clowns can go fight it to see whose god will win? Oh right, you both have the SAME god!!
Reply to this comment
by gennx30-2009 June 20, 2007 4:39 PM PDT
You guys should fire yourselves for being such bad reporters-we have to rely on Australia to give us the whole story-sheesh...

http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C21936708-401%2C00.html

KARL ROVE CIRCUMVENTED LAWS TO SNEAK 140,200 EMAILS THROUGH A 'BACK ALLEY' SYSTEM, so they could legally destroy them if they so choose.
(remember, 'if you aint got nuthin' to hide....)?
Reply to this comment
by stevejbons June 20, 2007 4:43 PM PDT
The good news is that the American public is getting much more astute when it comes to seeing through scummy politicians like Bush-Cheney and are in general are truly disgusted with the corrupt system that both parties milk, whether in power or not. Couple that with the fact that at least 60 - 70% of voters are progressive in their worldview and it's obvious that a more enlightened and less fearful and jingoistic mindset will guide this nation into the future. With any luck, a decade from now our children will have trouble believing how wrong this country went for a brief period.
Reply to this comment
See all 52 Comments

About Couric & Co.

Go for a look behind the scenes at The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric for stuff we like and for surprises. It's also a place for you to post comments and join our conversation about the news.

Add to your favorite news reader
google
yahoo
msn
  • MOST POPULAR
  • Viewed
  • Commented