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My Message: Crime

Two federal statutes require presidential communications, including e-mails involving senior White House aides, to be preserved for the nation's historical record.

I would like you, Senator Cornyn, to investigate and give me an answer as to how the Bush administration has not found disaster recovery files for White House e-mails from a three-month time period in 2003.

The White House chief information officer, Theresa Payton, said in a sworn declaration that the White House has identified more than 400 computer backup tapes from March through September of 2003 but that the earliest recorded file was dated May 23 of that year.

That period was one of the most crucial of the Bush presidency. The United States launched the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, and President Bush declared the end of major combat operations on May 1.

Nearly 500 days' worth of White House e-mails from 2003 to 2005 are missing yet the Bush administration is arguing there is still no clear evidence of a problem. That is utterly incorrect.

Please keep me informed about your progress in pressuring the White House as to the whereabouts of these "missing" emails.

Respectfully,
David Porter