Re: Obama's Email Problem

Two watchdog groups want answers on how millions of Bush-era messages vanished—and they're losing patience with the White House.

—By Nick Baumann

Wed October 7, 2009 3:49 AM PST

An old problem is back in Barack Obama's inbox: What to do about millions of missing Bush-era emails?

In March, two Washington watchdog groups agreed to suspend a lawsuit against the White House—a case the Obama administration inherited from its predecessor—that aimed to force the government to recover the emails and modernize its archiving of electronic documents. At the time, the Obama administration had indicated it was willing to work toward a settlement. But months have passed with little progress and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the National Security Archive now say they are beginning to lose patience with the White House and are considering reviving the case. At stake are records that could shed light on controversies including the lead-up to the Iraq War and the leaking of Valerie Plame Wilson's covert CIA identity.