But It'll Never Happen

An LATimes editorial comes down hard on BushCo's™ use of RNC e-mail servers to conduct government business:

In 2001, the RNC bestowed computers and other equipment on Rove and other presidential aides in an apparent attempt to avoid the questions that dogged the Clinton administration about the use of government resources for partisan political purposes. Now Democratic critics of the Bush administration say the electronic back channel was used to transact government business without creating a historical record. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the dual system may violate the Presidential Records Act.

[...]

So far, it has been established that electronic back channels were used for discussions about the firing of a U.S. attorney; for conversations between a White House aide and convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff; and for a message to employees of the General Services Administration about a briefing in which an aide to Rove allegedly exhorted those present to help Republican candidates — a possible violation of the Hatch Act.

[...]

No doubt President Bush is irked about congressional interest in e-mails that passed among his politically active appointees. But in both the firing of the U.S. attorneys and the GSA briefing, the administration has invited scrutiny with shifting or nonexistent explanations for suspicious activities. Bush should tell the RNC — in an e-mail, if he likes — that the White House has no objection to giving Congress the records it has requested.

The LAT is right, of course, but George will never ever do that. Given the probable violations of the law, maybe violations that could put him and his whole crew in prison, he simply won't do it. Anyway, chances are the RNC will respond by saying, golly, we deleted those e-mails before anybody asked for them and then the hard drives were destroyed by accident. Ooops!

The virtual shredding began weeks ago. Guaranteed.

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