RNC to Conyers: 'We will give our emails to the White House first.'

[seafan]

In today's WP, near the end of the article:



Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr. decried the RNC refusal to turn over e-mails related to the dismissals.


April 18, 2007

The RNC deferred yesterday to White House requests that all documents from administration officials who used RNC e-mail accounts first be reviewed by Bush's lawyers. Congress has requested several years' worth of e-mails from top White House advisers, including Karl Rove, as part of its investigation of the prosecutor firings. In letters to the House and Senate Judiciary committees, an RNC lawyer said those documents belong to the White House.

"Recognizing the unique and significant nature of the potential privilege issue raised by the committee's requests, the RNC has agreed to the White House's reasonable request," Robert K. Kelner, an RNC lawyer, wrote to Conyers. Conyers responded that the action was "a clear attempt on the administration's part to delay this process."

House and Senate investigators have focused on e-mails by J. Scott Jennings, the White House's deputy political director, who used RNC e-mail accounts to discuss Rove's interest in appointing a former deputy as the U.S. attorney in Little Rock.

A leading House Democrat said last week that he had been told that as many as four years' worth of Rove's RNC e-mails may be missing. The e-mails are also sought in a congressional investigation of the alleged politicization of the General Services Administration.

When the congressional panels realized that Rove, Jennings and other White House aides used RNC accounts, they demanded access to those e-mails.

There is NO legitimate claim of executive privilege on an outside, unsecured server. This is a grave breach of national security to conduct US Government business in this manner.

Speaker Pelosi, clear off your table.

[robinlynne]

1. Conyers is being too polite. A delay is the least of it.

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. With Martinez heading up the RNC, I'm not holding my breath

for them to haul a Senator into the pokey for contempt of Congress. :argh:

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Omigod! You're so right.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. That is absolutely unacceptable

[HCE SuiGeneris]

4. hope they don't lose them....

:shrug:

[KingFlorez]

5. Those sort of emails had no business on their server in the first place

They only want to turn them over to the White House so they can be tampered with or "accidentally" deleted.

[TahitiNut]

18. There is no "turn them over" that bears any relationship to reality.

They're in possession of COPIES of emails sent/recieved from people on the PUBLIC payroll in the White House acting as a quasi-agency for subverting the laws of the land. The White House is presumptively ALREADY in possession of such emial, EXCEPT in cases where they've been deliberately deleted with the clear intention of evading the law.

[peacetalksforall]

6. Might there be some kind of separate legal claim on the books

that can be filed against the RNC independent of Congress - for obstruction?

[shraby]

7. Instead of asking for them, Conyers should have

subpoenaed them.

[Hepburn]

13. Agree.....

SDT the fucking documents and if any BS, send Marshalls with a computer expert to get the stuff. End of discussion. PERIOD.

There is NO need to be nice or to possibly hold a member of Congress in contempt. Effectuate the freaking subpoenas and if the WH or the RNC don't like it, let them put their BS Exec Priv arguments before a court....and at the same time tell the nation the reason why they are hiding this shit from Congress and the public.

JMHO

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. OH, STOP THEM!

A crime is being committed!

[napi21]

10. I really don't see a problem with this manuver at all. In fact, I think

it's most likely Std. procedure. Admitedly these emails originated at the WH, or nost of them did, therefore all the RNC is doing is giving the WH a heads up reminder of what's in them.

[plcdude]

11. I disagree

It does not matter where they originated from. They are politically based email subject to review if there is cause to do so. They are not Whitehouse property.

[napi21]

19. Perhapse the better decision would have been to deliverthem to both the WH & Congress

simultainiously. I guess all I'm saying is that this is the RNC. If it were the DNC, I would feelthe Dem WH should have a heads upon what was being given to the opposition, or at the very least, given the SAME info.

Sure, I'd LOVE to have the upper hand in this mess, but I still believe in a level playing field inour justice system...obviously different than the Pubs!

[Senator]

12. This is What "Gumming To Death" Looks Like

Refuse to comply. Partially comply. Fight the subpoena. Give up the fight. Restart the fight. Partially comply. Ad infinitum...

It's a DemocRat's Maze.

Only Impeachment DOES anything about anything.

It is the The Cheese.

---

[C_U_L8R]

14. Seize the servers now

and prosecute whoever tries to obstruct justice.

This is getting ridiculous.

[Heywood J]

28. Seconded.

Smack them with a subpoena, then have US Marshals or the Sargent-At-Arms take possession of the damn things from the datacenter. Remove the decision from their hands and you'll have a speedier resolution.

[TahitiNut]

15. That's nothing short of SUBVERSION.

The RNC has no Constitutional role and, like any private organization, is subject to the legitimate investigatory activites of Congress. In illicitly acting as a quasi-federal agent of the partisan GOP White House, they're subverting the very letter of our Constitutional form of government.

[leftofthedial]

16. time for armed intervention

[natrat]

17. we will give up lost now found emails after first doing a high tech delete on the doozies

[mmonk]

20. They'll just keep on taking it.

Hope Kucinich gets his articles ready.

[Blackhatjack]

21. Proposed Response to RNC re: turning emails over to White House first

1. WE are disappointed that you are refusing to comply with a duly issued subpoena from Congress.

2. You realize of course that some or all officials with the RNC may be held in contempt of Congress and that punishment for failure to comply with the duly issued subpoena could result in an active term of incarceration.

3. We expect you to keep in your possession a 'complete set of all emails recovered from RNC computers and servers' and that you will provide us with a copy of each email retained in your possession.

4. We expect you to maintain a complete and comprehensive log of all individuals you have spoken with in regard to making your decision, and all persons having possession of said emails recovered, and the disposition of all copies of said emails.

5. As a coequal branch of government, Congress can and will exercise its duty and authority to carry out oversight of the Executive Branch of government, including the affairs of the White House.

You may avoid future legal jeopardy regarding the emails recovered from RNC servers and computers by providing us with complete copies today, before you turn them over to the WHite House.

[lovuian]

24. Give to whitehouse so they can delete delete dellete

Is Congress like a limping wounded animal

trying to do its job and yet at every turn getting blocked

[cascadiance]

22. If nothing else, this will give the white house means to "adjust" their story...

If the white house sees all of these messages, then it will be that much more difficult to keep them from putting together a conspiracy of lies together. There's a reason that in OTHER criminal proceedings that individuals are questioned separately under oath, to see if their stories match up, and if they don't, then ask questions why. We're going to be prevented from doing that if the white house is being given a free "peek" at these emails. This needs to be stopped NOW!!!

[bdamomma]

23. Have something to hide RNC???????? give it WH first,

hmmm....who's behind that request Uncle Karl.

[Hobarticus]

25. Fuck it....subpeona the RNC today...

This is bullshit.

[HuffleClaw]

26. criminal

and should be treated as such

[intheflow]

27. That's right, the WH has been soooooo responsible about email up-to-date.

:eyes:

[Roy]

29. Couldn't someone just announce that.......

the person that delivers them and the person who receives them will be charged with and prosecuted for obstruction, and then just subpoena and seize the damn servers and computers that contain the originals.

This crap of co-operating with oversight and criminal investigation by only allowing the evidence WE provide to be considered is getting old.

And someone should be getting mad enough to put an end to it.

[warren pease]

30. interesting precedent for the rest of us

Following white house and RNC precedent established on numerous occasions, I don't have to do a damn thing if I ever get a subpoena. I'll treat it as just so much toilet paper, and tell whoever issues it to take a fucking number. As to executive privilege, I'm an executive of my very own little S-Corp, and because I'm a white male, I'm by definition privileged in this country. So fuck em.

Why do I feel that this argument is only availble to the rich and powerful, and that if I dared to try it I'd be clapped in irons and shipped to Tortures R Us somewhere in the offshore American gulag?

wp

[The Count]

31. IOKIYAR

[tomp]

32. can anyone explain conyers' strategy on this?

in my view he should have subpoenaed from the outset but definitely should have subpoenaed after the rnc indicated they might give the e-mails to the white house first.

what's up with that?