WH Email And Unanswered Questions

White House Opposes Court Order in Email Case

Susie Madrak, C and L:

Well, of course they do! You didn't think they were going to start following the laws at this late date, did you?

The Bush administration is aggressively pushing back against a federal court order instructing the most important offices in the White House to preserve all of their e-mail.

In court papers late Friday, the administration argued that a federal court has no authority to impose such a requirement on the offices of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the National Security Council.

Meanwhile...

There Are Still Many Unanswered Questions About GOP IT Guru's Tragic Plane Crash

Larisa Alexandrovna, Raw Story:

New information surrounding the December plane crash which killed GOP internet consultant Michael Connell casts doubt on some of the rumors and speculation surrounding his death but doesn't close the books on the circumstances surrounding the Republican technology star's tragic end. [...]

Connell’s case has drawn particular attention because he had recently testified in a case alleging that Ohio’s votes were tampered with during the 2004 presidential election. However, Connell – who was compelled to testify – denied the allegations in his Nov. 3, 2008 deposition.

Connell is also alleged to have been involved with the scrubbing of emails from White House staff which had been sent through an alternate system hosted on Republican National Committee servers. [...]

Connell’s lawyers fought the subpoena and refused to furnish the plaintiffs with IT network schematics relating to the 2004 and 2006 elections. [...]

In calling for the judge to compel Connell to testify, plaintiffs cited recent security breaches in the computer system at the office of Ohio's Secretary of State, which were preceded by a barrage of threatening phone and email messages and death threats and which led to the state website temporarily being taken down Oct. 20. The plaintiffs used these events to suggest the possibility of Trojan horses or back doors in the system, which Connell had designed.

In addition, the plaintiffs’ attorneys provided information of alleged threats against Connell. These alleged threats and the alleged threats against the Ohio Secretary of State, resulted in the court issuing another subpoena compelling Connell’s testimony.

Related post: Missing WH Emails Recovered?