What is this meme about "lost" emails?

[gristy]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3212575
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x640139
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x638211
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x634238
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x632110

Emails are not lost. They are deleted. It is usually legal to delete emails. It sometimes is not. Is this one of those times?

[Dinger]

1. Embarrassed I Have To Ask. . . .

what's a "meme"?

[babylonsister]

3. Brainwashing? Here's a def from dictionary.com:

Memes can be considered the unit of cultural evolution. Ideas can evolve in a way analogous to biological evolution. Some ideas survive better than others; ideas can mutate through, for example, misunderstandings; and two ideas can recombine to produce a new idea involving elements of each parent idea.
The term is used especially in the phrase "meme complex" denoting a group of mutually supporting memes that form an organised belief system, such as a religion. However, "meme" is often misused to mean "meme complex".
Use of the term connotes acceptance of the idea that in humans (and presumably other tool- and language-using sophonts) cultural evolution by selection of adaptive ideas has become more important than biological evolution by selection of hereditary traits. Hackers find this idea congenial for tolerably obvious reasons.

[aquart]

2. Very funny.

[pnwmom]

4. There is a requirement for the White House to archive all its records.

No exceptions for email. So yes, this is one of those times.

[Kagemusha]

5. It's uh, what WH lawyers have argued. That's why it's been reported.

It's the wording they chose to use.

I totally agree that the claims, as worded, should be treated with contempt.