Bush E-Mail Mystery Deepens: White House Won't Name Tech Contractor

[sabra]

Source: ABC News Blotter

The White House will not identify a private company which appears to be involved in the disappearance of millions of White House e-mails.

The company was responsible for reviewing and archiving White House e-mails, a White House official told congressional staff in May, according to a letter yesterday from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Congressional investigators asked then for the name of the company and "have repeatedly requested" the information since then, according to Waxman.

They are still waiting for an answer, the chairman wrote to White House counsel Fred Fielding. Waxman asked the White House to come up with the company's name by Sept. 10.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel declined to tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com the company's name or explain why the White House would not provide it to Congress.

"We are reviewing Rep. Waxman's letter and will respond expeditiously," Stanzel said in an e-mailed statement.

Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/08/bush-e-mail-mys.html

[Kagemusha]

1. Ah, so that's how they've hidden this so well so far.

The problem is, this is of extremely dubious legality. Not even giving the name so that Congress can't subpoena the company directly... there's no justification. Only excuses. And not even excuses so far it seems.

[thereismore]

2. Private company? Why am I thinking Neil Bush? I have no reason to think that, but... nt

[yellowcanine]

5. Hmm - I was also thinking "sweetheart contract" Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Hard to see why they would not name mames, given the Bush propensity for passing the buck of accountability to just about anyone else.

[xchrom]

3. oh goody -- this is getting delicious! n/t

[bemildred]

4. Diebold? nt

[Barrett808]

6. ChoicePoint? n/t

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. How can they validate not giving over the name of the company?

This mystery company was hired by the Information Assurance Directorate to archive emails that belong to the American public. Period.

How can they presume to have a legal right to withhold the name of said company from the owners of the property they're hired to archive?

[stressfulreality]

22. easily, because bush is untouchable... n/t

[Double T]

8. Classic case of ANOTHER WH coverup................

is that a whiff of resignation(s) I smell in the air, or was IT just my imagination?

[rodeodance]

9. it just gets worse and worser!!

[rodeodance]

10. private

The unnamed firm "was responsible for the daily audits of the e-mail system and the e-mail archiving process," Waxman said a White House briefer had attested in a May meeting.

The firm worked for the Information Assurance Directorate, under the White House chief information officer, Waxman said he was told.

In addition to requesting the firm's name, Waxman's staff has also asked to see a White House report which detailed the days on which few or no e-mails were archived; the White House has been similarly unresponsive to that request, Waxman charged, and asked it provide the document by Sept. 10 as well.

[truthisfreedom]

11. By September 10th. Henry has something up his sleeve.

I'm glad he's on our side.

[radfringe]

19. there wouldn't be a memo entitled

Henry determined to strike?

[progressoid]

12. "...respond expeditiously" Yeah, right.

[EVDebs]

13. Ptech, now known as GoAgile....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptech

"Ptech Inc. was a Quincy, Massachusetts-based provider of enterprise architecture, business modeling, analysis and integration software solutions.<1> This privately held corporation was founded in 1994, and known for its technology, which was based on a unique implementation of neural net and semantic technologies....

Notable clientele

Ptech's roster of clients included several governmental agencies, including the United States Armed Forces, NATO, Congress, the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Customs, the FAA, the IRS, the Secret Service, and the White House. Despite the media allegation that the company's was connected to terrorism, an allegation that both the US government and the company's official denied, as of May 2004 they were still contracted by several federal agencies, including the White House.

Ptech had a security clearance to work on sensitive military projects dating to 1997."

Still under contract to WH, FAA, DoD, Air Force, DOJ ... WTF ?

And what else is the M$M doing cover for ? Take this YEAR OLD story the M$M is still sitting on...

"It's all part of a growing ongoing investigation into corruption in defense and intelligence contracts, which already has sent former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham to prison and, legal sources say, may threaten others in Congress and the CIA. "

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12634250/

Lisa Myers of NBC and Brian Ross of ABC are probably waiting for Larry Flynt and Dan Moldea to break the real story on who these "OTHERS" are, huh ?

[bleever]

28. Thanks for the reminder

about PTech and GoAgile.

Bogus defense contracts, voting machine contracts...

[djp2]

14. Were they paid for the work?

someone has to have written a check. What about the GAO? Wouldn't they have cut a check to someone for services?

[SpiralHawk]

15. "Smirk, EVERYTHNG is secret. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

"Just because you taxpayers paid for this screw up does not mean you get to know about it. Smirk, smirk, smirk."

- Commander AWOL

[donkeyotay]

16. Let me take a flyer here and guess that they can't name the defense contractor

who's been helping the GOP-CIA out with our tax dollars because it would raise questions about whether or not we still live in a democracy. Alex, I'll take Smartech for $200.

[seafan]

17. SMARTech is a candidate.

This is on SMARTech's web site:

"They’ve got a tight group that does their support, and they know how to do some coding of their own, so they are able to respond and customize more than your average Web host," he said.

In addition to its work at the convention, Smartech also sends out several million e-mail messages a day under contracts with both President Bush’s campaign and the Republican National Committee.

The company also hosts the Bush-Cheney campaign Web site, at www.georgewbush.com, and the national committee’s site, www.GOP.com . In the past year, the company has added six employees, bringing its total to 12. Smartech does not release revenue figures, but political work accounts for 25 percent to 35 percent of the company’s total business, Mr. Averbeck said.

http://www.smartechcorp.net/index.php?page=news

(Scroll down to title, "Local company hosts GOP Internet sites") for full story

[rateyes]

27. It also happens to be very closely linked with the

Senator from Tennessee who resides in Chattanooga, Smartteches hometown. That's my bet. They stole the election from Harold Ford, IMHO.

[Vickers]

18. I have a feeling some folks are about to go to jail.

A whole *BUNCH* of folks.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. What pisses me off is people actually voted for this shit.

They KNEW how deceptive these assholes would be, and they voted for them anyway. :grr:

[Peace Patriot]

25. Prove it--that "people actually voted for this shit." That's the thing, you know--

the whole point of "trade secret," proprietary voting counting, with the secret code owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations (Diebold, ES&S), with virtually no audit/recount controls. They can't prove it. Nor can you.

See the OP about "ongoing" separate FBI investigations (i.e., Abramoff, Ney) and my comment about the "Mother of all Scandals":

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2973720

I think the "lost" Rove/RNC emails contain the "smoking gun" on the 2004 election.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. They voted for him...But tht doesn't mean they elected him.

But, trust me, there were plenty who did vote for him, or else they never would have gotten away with stealing the election.

[Trillo]

21. White House essentially says to the people

(in other words) go fuck yourselves.

[DrDan]

23. hmmmmmm . . . Rove Technologies????

[OwnedByFerrets]

24. GOD, I am soooo

fucking tired of them acting like they are fucking royalty!!!!!!! YOU work for US motherfuckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

[Ian David]

26. It was all kept in Dick Cheney's internal hard drive...

[Myrina]

30. You know, that would totally NOT surprise me ...

... a microchip full of compressed data, subcutaneously implanted on one of them ...

:scared:

[StarryNite]

31. The man without a heart.

:scared: