U.S. magistrate threatens Bush Administration

Bush Administration threatened  with contempt by U.S. magistrate over missing White House e-mails

A U.S. magistrate on Friday rejected arguments by the Bush administration and urged a federal judge to order the White House to preserve copies of all its e-mails.

“Unlike a court order, a declaration is not punishable by contempt,” the magistrate wrote. “In other words, without such an order, destruction of the backup media would be without consequences.”

The Federal Records Act and the President Records Act require that all e-mails be saved.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola said it is necessary to hold out the threat of a contempt-of-court citation to ensure that White House personnel safeguard backup tapes of electronic messages that may have been deleted.

Whether to issue the order is up to U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy. The Bush administration has 10 days to say why Kennedy should not order preservation of electronic communications by White House officials and aides. Kennedy had referred the issue to the magistrate for a recommendation.

Facciola’s report to the judge stems from a controversy dating back nearly two years over missing White House e-mails. An ethics advocacy group says the White House has deleted millions of e-mails and the private organization is suing the Executive Office of the President in an attempt to force the government to reconstruct any lost messages from backup tapes.

Fred Soto is an Attorney and Entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley.
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