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White House computer expert provides inside look into 'primative' e-mail system
Associated Press
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: News
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A computer expert who worked at the White House provided the first inside look at its e-mail system Tuesday, calling it a "primitive" setup that created a high risk that data would be lost.
Steven McDevitt's written statements, placed on the public record at a congressional hearing, asserted that a study by White House technical staff in October 2005 turned up an estimated 1,000 days on which e-mail was missing.
Two federal laws require electronic messages to be preserved.
Before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the White House defended the Bush administration's handling of its electronic messages.
"We are very energized about getting to the bottom of this," testified Theresa Payton, chief information officer at the White House Office of Administration.
"This is a form of sandbagging," replied Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who pointed out that by the time the White House fixes its e-mail problems, "you'll be out of office."
In his written statements, McDevitt said he participated in meetings with White House counsel Harriet Miers and members of her staff. The meetings, in December 2005 and early 2006, occurred around the time McDevitt and other technical staffers were trying to determine how much e-mail was missing from the White House.
In a report presented at the hearing, Waxman's Democratic staff said difficulties arose in recovering e-mails for Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA leak probe. Fitzgerald publicly disclosed the fact that the White House had an e-mail problem in early 2006.
There were no archived e-mails from the office of Vice President Dick Cheney from Sept. 30, 2003, to Oct. 6, 2003, just as the Justice Department was launching its investigation into whether anyone at the White House leaked Valerie Plame's CIA identity, according to documents provided to the House panel. The only e-mails that could be recovered for prosecutors were from the personal e-mail accounts of officials in Cheney's office, according to the report by Waxman's staff.
Steven McDevitt's written statements, placed on the public record at a congressional hearing, asserted that a study by White House technical staff in October 2005 turned up an estimated 1,000 days on which e-mail was missing.
Two federal laws require electronic messages to be preserved.
Before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the White House defended the Bush administration's handling of its electronic messages.
"We are very energized about getting to the bottom of this," testified Theresa Payton, chief information officer at the White House Office of Administration.
"This is a form of sandbagging," replied Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who pointed out that by the time the White House fixes its e-mail problems, "you'll be out of office."
In his written statements, McDevitt said he participated in meetings with White House counsel Harriet Miers and members of her staff. The meetings, in December 2005 and early 2006, occurred around the time McDevitt and other technical staffers were trying to determine how much e-mail was missing from the White House.
In a report presented at the hearing, Waxman's Democratic staff said difficulties arose in recovering e-mails for Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA leak probe. Fitzgerald publicly disclosed the fact that the White House had an e-mail problem in early 2006.
There were no archived e-mails from the office of Vice President Dick Cheney from Sept. 30, 2003, to Oct. 6, 2003, just as the Justice Department was launching its investigation into whether anyone at the White House leaked Valerie Plame's CIA identity, according to documents provided to the House panel. The only e-mails that could be recovered for prosecutors were from the personal e-mail accounts of officials in Cheney's office, according to the report by Waxman's staff.
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