Whither the E-Mails?

25 Aug 2008 // An internal White House document provides some fresh clues about the status of the controversy that has been simmering since 2007, when it was discovered that potentially millions of White House e-mails over a two-year period were missing.

Exactly what the clues suggest, however, is a bit murky.

The document in question, first obtained by the Associated Press, is a draft nine-page "statement of objectives" for a contractor to provide a "comprehensive technical and management approach for the recovery of electronic mail records" from backup tapes. The number of days of e-mail "to be restored range from as few as 25 to as many as 225 days."

That may actually suggest there are fewer missing messages than some earlier estimates that more than 400 days of e-mail traffic might be lost. The White House is required by law to maintain the e-mails under the Presidential Records Act.

The White House says the document in question is out of date and inaccurate. But it won't say what is accurate: Indeed, after acknowledging that millions of e-mails might be missing, the White House is now refusing to say any e-mails are lost and says that previous analyses were inaccurate.

Privately, officials suggest the number could be far lower than the initial estimates. But aides say that only after a full audit is complete will the administration offer any further public information.

"The office of administration, working with outside technical experts, is conducting a thorough accounting of the e-mail archiving system," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel. "It is important that that work be complete and accurate and therefore they are taking great pains to do a through analysis. That's where we are."

Anne Weismann, chief counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group that has focused considerable attention on the missing e-mails, said the White House document is a tacit acknowledgment that some e-mails are missing.

"The White House is taking some steps to recover these e-mails -- that's good," she said. "On the other hand, they have waited very late and it's not going to be done for quite a while."