Committee Holds Hearing on Electronic Records Preservation at the White House, Chairman Waxman’s Opening Statement, February 26, 2008:
“…When President Clinton left office and President Bush came into office, the White House had in place a system for archiving White House e-mails that complied with the Presidential Records Act…In its place, the White House adopted a system that one of its own experts described as “primitive” and carried a high risk that “data would be lost.” The system also had serious security flaws. Until the problem was corrected in 2005, all officials in the White House had access to the archive system and the ability to delete or alter existing information. The White House’s own analysis of its system identified over 700 days in which e-mail records seem either impossibly low or completely nonexistent. This 2005 analysis was prepared by a team of 15 White House officials and contractors.”

• Supplemental Information for Full Committee Hearing on White House E-mails: “The Committee has been investigating White House compliance with the Presidential Records Act. In preparation for this hearing, the Committee received more than 20,000 pages of intemal e-mails and other documents from the White House and the National Archives and Records Administration. The Committee also interviewed or received written answers to questions from six current or former officials in the White House responsible for preserving White House records.
• Testimony of Alan R. Swendiman, Special Assistant to the President and Director, Office of Administration
• Testimony of Theresa Payton, Chief Information Officer, Office of Administration
• Testimony of Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States
• Interrogatory of Steven McDevitt
• Sources for Supplemental Information
• Previous postings on missing White House email
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