RNC provided second set of communications for White House officials

April 10, 2007

E-mail system may hurt White House | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON — When Karl Rove and his top deputies arrived at the White House in 2001, the Republican National Committee provided them laptop computers and other communication devices to be used alongside their government-issued equipment.The back-channel e-mail and paging system, paid for and maintained by the RNC, was designed to avoid charges that had vexed the Clinton White House — that federal resources were being used inappropriately for political campaign purposes.

That dual computer system now is creating embarrassment and legal headaches for the White House, the Republican Party and Rove’s once-vaunted White House operation.

This is such a big no-no. The Presidential Records Act requires the disclosure of all official government business communications. That includes emails. You have to wonder with all the lawyers there are in politics that none of them thought of it. I understand you aren’t allowed to campaign on government equipment and keeping all campaign communication on a second system takes care of that problem but once you step outside the fundraising and campaign emails it is not a legal answer. I just love this next quote.

E-mail system may hurt White House | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle

“The system was created with the best intentions,” said former Assistant White House Press Secretary Adam Levine, who was assigned an RNC laptop and BlackBerry in 2002. He added, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

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