The George W. Bush email scandal the media has conveniently forgotten

[DonViejo]

Back in 2007, the White House "lost" more than five million private emails. The story was barely covered

ERIC BOEHLERT, MEDIA MATTERS

Even for a Republican White House that was badly stumbling through George W. Bush’s sixth year in office, the revelation on April 12, 2007 was shocking. Responding to congressional demands for emails in connection with its investigation into the partisan firing of eight U.S. attorneys, the White House announced that as many as five million emails, covering a two-year span, had been lost.

The emails had been run through private accounts controlled by the Republican National Committee and were only supposed to be used for dealing with non-administration political campaign work to avoid violating ethics laws. Yet congressional investigators already had evidence private emails had been used for government business, including to discuss the firing of one of the U.S. attorneys. The RNC accounts were used by 22 White House staffers, including then-Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, who reportedly used his RNC email for 95 percent of his communications.

As the Washington Post reported, “Under federal law, the White House is required to maintain records, including e-mails, involving presidential decision- making and deliberations.” But suddenly millions of the private RNC emails had gone missing; emails that were seen as potentially crucial evidence by Congressional investigators.

The White House email story broke on a Wednesday. Yet on that Sunday’s Meet The Press, Face The Nation, and Fox News Sunday, the topic of millions of missing White House emails did not come up. At all. (The story did get covered on ABC’s This Week.)

more
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/12/the_george_w_bush_email_scandal_the_media_has_conveniently_forgotten_partner/

[libodem]

1. Time this was revisited

[blm]

2. Corpmedia didn't think anything King George did was wrong enough to warrant

scrutiny. That…and their paychecks were being signed by King George's cronies.

[leveymg]

3. The underlying statute has no teeth - so there seemed no

possible way to prosecute the Bushies, particularly at a time the national psyche was still paralyzed by the 911/Iraq War psychosis and the political process was paralyzed, so nothing was going to be done about the crimes of the Bush Administration.

With Hillary's similar violation of the 1950 Federal Records Act there is a different political constellation today, so it seems like this might actually have consequences, at least political. So this is a major story.

Whoever advised her to set up a private email system on the assumption that she too would similarly get off Scott free gave her some very bad advice.

[Cosmic Kitten]

4. Gee, and Hillary didn't consider that "scandal" in her decision making?

Don't fault the media here.
It's the arrogance of powerful people
to flaunt their privilege that concerns me.

Following the Bush scandal, every Democrat
should have worked to avoid any such comparisons
to the republican transgressions.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. I haven't jumped into this mess...

but I agree- she should have known better.