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You are here: Home / Politics / A Thought Experiment

A Thought Experiment

by John Cole|  June 18, 20072:12 pm| 42 Comments

This post is in: Politics, Republican Stupidity, Outrage

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The governing principle of this adminstration and her loud-mouth freedom-fighting terrorist haters in the blogosphere is simple when it comes to privacy:

“If you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

With that in mind, I offer you this:

White House officials made extensive use of their RNC e-mail accounts. The RNC has preserved 140,216 e-mails sent or received by Karl Rove. Over half of these e-mails (75,374) were sent to or received from individuals using official “.gov” e-mail accounts. Other heavy users of RNC e-mail accounts include former White House Director of Political Affairs Sara Taylor (66,018 e-mails) and Deputy Director of Political Affairs Scott Jennings (35,198 e-mails). These e-mail accounts were used by White House officials for official purposes, such as communicating with federal agencies about federal appointments and policies.

There has been extensive destruction of the e-mails of White House officials by the RNC. Of the 88 White House officials who received RNC e-mail accounts, the RNC has preserved no e-mails for 51 officials. In a deposition, Susan Ralston, Mr. Rove’s former executive assistant, testified that many of the White House officials for whom the RNC has no e-mail records were regular users of their RNC e-mail accounts. Although the RNC has preserved no e-mail records for Ken Mehlman, the former Director of Political Affairs, Ms. Ralston testified that Mr. Mehlman used his account “frequently, daily.” In addition, there are major gaps in the e-mail records of the 37 White House officials for whom the RNC did preserve e-mails. The RNC has preserved only 130 e-mails sent to Mr. Rove during President Bush’s first term and no e-mails sent by Mr. Rove prior to November 2003. For many other White House officials, the RNC has no e-mails from before the fall of 2006.

If we use the evidentiary standards good for the rest of us, it is clearly time to ship the White House staff to Gitmo. But don’t worry- I hear the food is ok.

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Reader Interactions

42Comments

  1. 1.

    Third Eye Open

    June 18, 2007 at 2:27 pm

    What they don’t tell you is that a vast majority of these emails were involving penis enlargement and HOT! stock tips.

    Why does everything have to be a conspiracy with you, moonbat?

  2. 2.

    Jake

    June 18, 2007 at 2:29 pm

    *Initiating Spin O Matic verson 2.0. Please select the sound bite from the following results:*

    1. Clinton did it too (or worse)!

    2. Executive Privlege baby, bite me!

    3. It’s just a number.

    4. iook! A sleagul!

    5. Daisy, daisy, what am I gonna dooo

    *Fatal Error 402, Spin O Matic Session Terminated. Please see Karl for assistance. If you can find him.*

  3. 3.

    Tax Analyst

    June 18, 2007 at 2:29 pm

    Shit, with such yummy treats to eat all the time it’s a wonder all of those silly Git-Mo-Hamhead’s aren’t lodging formal complaints about suffering extreme weight-gain…obesity must be a HUGE problem there. I wonder if those delectable goodies are as tasty when they are force-fed into you through a huge tube that’s been jammed down your throat through your pried-open mouth? And what about the “clean-rag every day” policy for water-boarding? Did they ever show even the slightest gratitude? Ingrates – we roll out our best for them and they hate us anyway…they’d probably complain if we hung ’em with a new rope…

  4. 4.

    ThymeZone

    June 18, 2007 at 2:32 pm

    Wait, the reason we have this administration is because we managed to trash Al Gore for making some fundraining phone calls using a White House telephone (although NPR reported that he had charged the calls to his DNC credit card). Isn’t that right?

    Therefore by rule these potatoheads are fired.

  5. 5.

    Rome Again

    June 18, 2007 at 2:38 pm

    Therefore by rule these potatoheads are fired.

    Nuh-uh, because, remember, IOKIYAR!

  6. 6.

    Pb

    June 18, 2007 at 2:43 pm

    Obviously you don’t get the reasoning at work here:

    If you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t have anything to worry about.

    If you destroy all the evidence first, then you don’t have anything to hide!

  7. 7.

    Zifnab

    June 18, 2007 at 2:46 pm

    Oh, sure. Another liberal jackalope if I ever saw one. Hey moonbats, IT’S NOT ILLEGAL TO SEND E-MAILS! Why are you so stupid? You can’t prove anything. And even if you could, which you can’t, what are you going to do about it? Impeach the President? You can’t, because he’d just pardon himself retroactively. Executive Priviledge.

    This is why the Republicans are going to win in a landslide in ’08.

    /channeling RedState

  8. 8.

    Tax Analyst

    June 18, 2007 at 2:51 pm

    I guess I should have referenced your link to Michelle Malkin’s loony post about the Gitmo repast…my comment might have almost resembled something that made sense then…maybe…

  9. 9.

    DougJ

    June 18, 2007 at 2:52 pm

    What about the lost billing records for the Rose Law firm? The ones Vince Foster was killed to hide.

    Sending subpoenas to the White House emboldens the terrorists. It’s no coincidence that things have fallen apart in Iraq since the Gonzales investigation began.

  10. 10.

    Tsulagi

    June 18, 2007 at 2:55 pm

    But don’t worry- I hear the food is ok

    Plus they’re quite accustomed to having two fruits daily.

  11. 11.

    Jake

    June 18, 2007 at 3:10 pm

    /channeling RedState

    Now wash thoroughly with a strong bleach solution.

  12. 12.

    Teak111

    June 18, 2007 at 3:14 pm

    Well I guess emails can be disappeared after all. You mean some entreprizing young hacker can’t find these email out there? No, they just don’t care and neither do I, really. Another year and half of this crap. I must have Bush fatique. I can’t even look at Jual Cole anymore. Sad/

  13. 13.

    Davebo

    June 18, 2007 at 3:29 pm

    Of topic, but what the hell. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you your comment of the day.

    A discussion of “underlying beliefs or theories” in this context is absurd, given the horror of the Iraq debacle. If your “underlying beliefs or theories” made you stick your dick in the blender, even “reluctantly,” and you haven’t thoroughly reassessed these concepts, I frankly don’t want to hear your advice about what to do with the weed whacker.

  14. 14.

    The Other Steve

    June 18, 2007 at 3:41 pm

    I think it’s obvious you are all suffering from BDS.

  15. 15.

    craigie

    June 18, 2007 at 3:45 pm

    But, you know, Clinton.

  16. 16.

    Chad N. Freude

    June 18, 2007 at 3:54 pm

    I give you your comment of the day.

    I looked at the page that points to and have been laughing hysterically ever since. The “Militant Moderate” quote, aside from its hilarious wrong-headedness, contains the term “pejorative tautology“. I am going to dedicate the rest of my life to working that into every conversation. Maybe I’ll have it emblazoned on a T-shirt. Or launch a blog, The Pejorative Tautologist. Or write a monograph on Pejorative Logic.

    Oh God, I love the blogosphere.

  17. 17.

    ThymeZone

    June 18, 2007 at 3:58 pm

    Just because you aren’t paying strict attention, the fellows who are sponsoring us today.

    Be sure to tip your waiter.

    Heh.

  18. 18.

    Chad N. Freude

    June 18, 2007 at 4:01 pm

    TZ –

    Thanks for the pointer.

    From the leader of the Republican revolution that swept Congress in 1994

    … and we all know how well that worked out. I can’t stop laughing. Or is that crying?

  19. 19.

    Jake

    June 18, 2007 at 4:15 pm

    Just because you aren’t paying strict attention, the fellows who are sponsoring us today.

    Nancy Grace, this nightmare. TZ is on a one man quest to make us get sick all over our keyboards.

    Am I the only one who looks at Newt and McCainiac and wonders why these guys are so pale? Dracula would say catch some rays. Nicole Kidman would look sunburnt if she stood next to them. These guys look like they belong in hospice. Or a casket. Not the White House.

  20. 20.

    chopper

    June 18, 2007 at 4:18 pm

    I can’t stop laughing. Or is that crying?

    either way, the tears are real.

  21. 21.

    Chad N. Freude

    June 18, 2007 at 4:20 pm

    If you order the free sample chapter from Newt’s book, you also get (in PDF)

    Our Creator in the Capital: A Walking Tour of God in Washington, D.C.

  22. 22.

    ThymeZone

    June 18, 2007 at 4:20 pm

    Dracula would say catch some rays.

    Rosie O, back in the day when she did standup and was sort of funny, would say “They are are so white, you have to look at their skin through this thing we made in science class for watching the eclipse, or else you’d burn your eyes out.”

  23. 23.

    Chad N. Freude

    June 18, 2007 at 4:23 pm

    Jake –

    McCain is deathly pale because he’s elderly and a recovered cancer patient.
    Newt is deathly pale because he is an inhuman bloodless monster.

  24. 24.

    jg

    June 18, 2007 at 4:24 pm

    “If you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

    When will someone say this to a member of the administration when they balk at appearing under oath or turning over documents or just denying that congress has oversight of the White House?

  25. 25.

    Bubblegum Tate

    June 18, 2007 at 4:29 pm

    Pejorative Tautologist

    Sounds like a math rock band.

  26. 26.

    ThymeZone

    June 18, 2007 at 4:38 pm

    Our Creator in the Capital: A Walking Tour of God in Washington, D.C.

    Two things come to mind. One is this spoof (Maher?) of larry King Live: “Cleveland, go ahead. You’re on with the Pontiff.”

    The other is a picture of Matt Lauer walking the streets of DC with God.

    Lauer: So, as a deity, and certainly one of the premier deities in the world today, you look down on this city, and in particular the mall …. what’s the feeling?

    God: I like the Vietnam Memorial, and some of the words on the Lincoln, inside the memorial, are good, although the building itself looks like a giant Photomat with a Walt Disney animatron inside. But by and large, I’m not crazy about it. Have you seen Versailles, or some of the stuff at St. Petersburg? This is pretty cheesy here.

  27. 27.

    George B.

    June 18, 2007 at 4:43 pm

    “If you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

    With that in mind, I offer you this:

    Yes, but 9/11 changed everything.

    Therefore by rule these potatoheads are fired.

    9/11 changed everything.

    I think it’s obvious you are all suffering from BDS.

    I’m not.

  28. 28.

    ThymeZone

    June 18, 2007 at 4:44 pm

    Lauer: Petersburg?

    God: Russia, Matt. Not Florida.

  29. 29.

    Jake

    June 18, 2007 at 4:47 pm

    Our Creator in the Capital: A Walking Tour of God in Washington, D.C.

    Do what now? I’m ALMOST tempted to sign up to see what the hell Newter is talking about. Unless he means the Religions ‘R’ Us Strip along 16th Street, this doesn’t make any sense.

    Why am I surprised? Forget it.

    Oh well, I sure hope no one hacks into the site and replaces OCC:WTGWDC with Our Crack-houses in the Capital: A Walking Tour of the Wild Side in Washington, DC.

  30. 30.

    Bubblegum Tate

    June 18, 2007 at 4:51 pm

    Our Creator in the Capital: A Walking Tour of God in Washington, D.C.

    I kind of want to see this. Probably not as much as I want to go to the Creation Museum and laugh my ass off, but I imagine ol’ Newtie’s God-Government crap would be pretty damn funny in its own right.

  31. 31.

    George B.

    June 18, 2007 at 4:53 pm

    Do what now? I’m ALMOST tempted to sign up to see what the hell Newter is talking about. Unless he means the Religions ‘R’ Us Strip along 16th Street, this doesn’t make any sense.

    9/11 changed everything.

  32. 32.

    Chad N. Freude

    June 18, 2007 at 4:53 pm

    I’m ALMOST tempted to sign up to see what the hell Newter is talking about.

    One can do this sort of thing safely. I use Mailinator.com.

  33. 33.

    Jake

    June 18, 2007 at 5:09 pm

    Thanks for the tip C.N.F., I had no idea such a thing existed in the intertubes. Lessee here…

    Aw dude, weak!

    HTTP 404 Page Not Found.

    How dare Newt promise me a walk with the creator and not deliver? What does he think I am? One of his wives or something? I shall complain. Vociferously.

  34. 34.

    ThymeZone

    June 18, 2007 at 5:18 pm

    How dare Newt promise me a walk with the creator and not deliver?

    Don’t worry, Dateline will have God on a special segment soon. He wants the camera time, since the number of people in the US reporting “no religious preference” is skyrocketing all of a sudden.

  35. 35.

    Chad N. Freude

    June 18, 2007 at 5:29 pm

    HTTP 404 Page Not Found.

    I can’t believe this! The neocons extend an offer and renege???

    No-o-o!!!

  36. 36.

    Chad N. Freude

    June 18, 2007 at 6:03 pm

    HTTP 404 Page Not Found.

    Mark Foley’s worst nightmare.

  37. 37.

    The Other Steve

    June 19, 2007 at 9:12 am

    Nobody could have possibly anticipated the email servers would lose all the emails.

  38. 38.

    Jake

    June 19, 2007 at 10:13 am

    Mark Foley’s worst nightmare.

    Zing!

    I am ashamed to say it took me a while to get this.

  39. 39.

    Randolph Fritz

    June 19, 2007 at 10:22 am

    It seems worth repeating that the RNC servers were probably not secured by the NSA. If we want those e-mails back we can probably just ask the Russians.

  40. 40.

    jrg

    June 19, 2007 at 11:45 am

    If a stock broker was sending work-related email through a personal account, they would be canned and under investigation by the SEC faster than you can say “compliance”.

    It’s good to know that we’re holding these dirtbags to a standard lower than that of a common “financial advisor”.

    Maybe the NSA should add the terms “GOP” and “RNC” to its list of words to flag (along with “Jihad”, “Bomb”, “Peace Movement” and “Cindy Sheehan”).

  41. 41.

    mrmobi

    June 19, 2007 at 1:30 pm

    Just because you aren’t paying strict attention, the fellows who are sponsoring us today.

    Thanks, TZ. I can’t wait to get my first issue. We are so lucky in this country to have devout patriots like Newt Gingrich devoting his time to solving our nation’s problems.

    Run Newt, Run!

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. The Presidential Records Act Wasn’t A Suggestion says:
    June 18, 2007 at 3:54 pm

    […] The rule of law is not partisan; I’d expect the party that prides itself as the “Law and Order” party to live up to it’s name and police it’s own. But then John Cole of Balloon Juice reminds us of the administration and their blogger defenders cardinal rule: “If you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t have anything to worry about.” Well, from the looks of things so far I’d say they’ve got something to hide. […]

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