Bush White House email settlement–the interesting part
Everyone has probably already seen the news that the lawsuit brought by the National Security Archive (NSA) and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) against the Executive Office of the President (and NARA too, I believe) over the lost Bush emails has been settled. However, in her latest post, fellow archives blogger L’Archivista makes this observation:
However, a quick review of the settlement document itself reveals that, with a handful of exceptions, the media isn’t calling attention to a provision that ought to interest anyone who wants to know how the White House does business or how EOP manages its electronic records:
4. Description of Current EOP System: Defendants [EOP and NARA] will provide Plaintiffs [NSA and CREW] with a publicly releasable letter describing in as much detail as possible the current EOP computer system, including its email archiving and backup systems. This document will include a detailed description of the controls in the system that prevent the unauthorized deletion of records.
a. Prior to sending the letter, Defendants will review with Plaintiffs draft(s) of the letter and the Parties will agree upon a final version.
b. Defendants recognize that Plaintiffs intend to release the letter publicly, and Defendants do not object to such a release.
c. Defendants will produce this letter by January 15, 2010.
Although I’m sorry that the EOP and NARA personnel charged with producing this document will likely have to curtail their holiday breaks, I’m looking forward to the end result. It should make for interesting reading.
Yes, it should, shouldn’t it?
Electronic records, Government information, National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) | Kate T. | 
December 17, 2009 6:28 am
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