US officials not using government IT facilities so they can't be exposed. ? It would *never* happen here in the UK....

Oh, wait, it does. It's just we do it to avoid the Freedom of Information act. (We wouldn't want the public finding out what the government *really* gets up to now, would we ?)

I used to think that prosecuting the Cheney administration for violation of the US constitution, international human rights law and the Geneva convention was rather too partisan and just too far out.

Not so sure anymore. It is becoming pretty clear that they feel entirely justified to pursue their ends with any means available. The ends are a matter of conventional political debate, but the Bush administation should definitely face justice over the means. Preferably before all evidence is destroyed (up to an including another Cheney heart attack)

...Condoleezza Rice is telling the Russians she wants to "help them build institutions to protect people from the arbitrary power of the state".

You couldn't make this stuff up.

What is not mentioned is that the "watchdog" group that filed for the court order is loaded with members of the Democratic party and is not in the least bit neutral.

folks might want to check out this GAO report about how the clinton admin handled or should one say mishandled their email

“Clinton Administration’s Management of Executive Office of the President’s E-Mail System,” U.S. General Accounting Office Report,GAO-01-446 (April 2001), available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01446.pdf

Memorandum of Understanding on the Clinton-Gore E-mail Records,

available at http://tinyurl.com/yu67t8

“Missing White House E-mails: Mismanagement of Subpoenaed Records,” Hearings before the Committee on Government Reform,U.S. House of Representatives, 106th Cong, 2d Sess., Serial No. 106-179 (March 23, March 30, May 3, and May 4, 2000)

www.erpanet.org/events/2004/antwerpen/presentations/erpaWorkshop-Antwerpen_Baron.ppt

Surely the retention of records from the current administration is more to the point? (Preventing crime being more useful than uncovering past crimes.)

It is interesting to watch the USA morphing slowly into the USSR. Unfortunately, it looks as though the original USSR has given way to a new Russian Empire, rather than heading toward where the USA used to sit. (Any bets on how long it will take Russia to re-institute the monarchy? And whether this will occur before the "new USSR" starts shipping their people off to the gulags?)

And ? So the fuck what ?

Are you suggesting that just because both Democrats and Republicans are conniving shitweasels (duh! They're politicians), the disgusting behaviour of the abhorrent Bush administration should go uninvestigated and unpunished ?

Are you actually that much of a retard ?

Does Clinton having done something wrong mean that it's OK for Bush to do it to ?

Are you allowed to go on killing sprees just because Charles Manson did it once ? [1]

Switch off Fox news and go get a fucking clue.

[1] .. oh wait, hang on...

considering our pollies think that high level technology is a mobile phone and that high speed 512k/128k 'broadband' with 3 GB monthly allocation ought to be enough for anybody

Their idea of email or electronic mail is sending a word file on a floppy disk via courier

"Unfortunately, it looks as though the original USSR has given way to a new Russian Empire, rather than heading toward where the USA used to sit. (Any bets on how long it will take Russia to re-institute the monarchy? And whether this will occur before the "new USSR" starts shipping their people off to the gulags?)"

Now there's a novelty which shows a Beta Vista if viewed and perceived as a new Russian Sociable Meritocracy.

An IBM Programming Initiative, do you think? ...... http://www.rsm.co.uk/ . Or AI Beta British Intelligence Service at ITs Work, Rest and Play?

Yep thats right, all wrong only began with the Bush Administration. If everyone is so hot about the Bush Emails, why stop with just them? Surely all crimes should be uncovered not just the ones that Stopped you from having your own real life West Wing, you pathetic Sad Sac :(

Regardless of the administration, it is worrying that the techies maintaining the White House systems seem to be as unmindful of the legal requirement to preserve email as the politicians! What does the Federal Law actually say? that *all* email must be preserved (and if so, by whom?) or that White House/ US Federal Government/ government/ official agencies/ etc must keep all email - and for how long?

Could the email of the 88 Republicans using Republican party addresses be subpoenaed under US law - Federal or State?

Perhaps they *have* learned from history - if Richard Nixon hadn't made tapes, he might never have been impeached!

Technical question: if an email is deleted on a PC, can it be retrieved forensically?

WTF ? Are you amanfrommars' brother ?