White-House Overwrote E-Mail

E-mail messages sent and received by White-House personnel during the first three years of the Bush-administration were routinely "recycled,". During the period in question, the Bush presidency faced some of its biggest controversies, including the Iraq-war. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said he has no reason to believe any E-mails were deliberately destroyed. The court filing said tapes were recycled before October 2003, and at that point, the White House "began preserving and storing all backup tapes."

Two federal statutes require presidential-communications, including e-mails involving senior White House aides, to be preserved for the nation's historical record. Some historians responded to the court disclosure yesterday by urging that the White House's actions be thoroughly probed. "There certainly could have been hugely important-materials there . . . and of course they're not owned by President Bush or anybody in the administration, they're owned by the public," said presidential historian Robert-Dallek.

Via Washington-Post