White House Directed To Protect E-mails

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge is ordering the White House to preserve copies of all e-mails, a move that Bush administration lawyers have argued strongly against.<br/><br/>The order directs the Executive

Monday, November 12th 2007, 3:39 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge is ordering the White House to preserve copies of all e-mails, a move that Bush administration lawyers have argued strongly against.

The order directs the Executive Office of the President to safeguard the material in response to two lawsuits seeking to determine whether the White House has destroyed e-mails in violation of federal law.

Two organizations allege the disappearance of five million White House e-mails, but the White House is seeking dismissal of the suits.

The Federal Records Act details strict standards prohibiting destruction of government documents, including electronic messages, unless first approved by the archivist of the United States.