Posted on 08/17/2009 1:28:38 PM PDT by jazusamo
The ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wants more answers from the White House about its e-mail policies.
In a letter to White House counsel Greg Craig, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Monday raised questions about the White House's request for supporters to forward “fishy claims” about healthcare.
Issa says such a request could have a “chilling” effect on free speech and asked the president to ensure that the e-mails will be stored properly but not used for political purposes.
“To help ease these concerns, please tell us what actions take place or have been discussed in regard to e-mails deemed ‘fishy’ and what safeguards the White House has put in place to insure [sic] no retributive steps are taken against those who express dissent," Issa wrote.
Earlier on Monday the White House announced it was changing its e-mail policies to ensure that advocacy groups could not sign people up to White House e-mail lists without the recipients' permission. It also disabled the e-mail account that had caused the problem, but Issa still wants answers about the stored e-mails it had already received.
Some conservatives have suggested the White House was trying to sign people up for e-mails against their will, or was trying to compile an “enemies list.” Those claims have been vehemently denied by the White House.
In his letter, Issa cited reports that citizens who had not contacted the White House had nevertheless received a healthcare-related e-mail from senior adviser David Axelrod.
“Based on reports of Americans who received this e-mail without having contacted the White House, I am concerned about the possibility that political e-mail address lists are being used for official purposes,” Issa wrote.
The White House on Monday did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Issa's letter.
The e-mail back-and-forth began after a tense exchange between White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Fox News Channel's senior White House correspondent, Major Garrett.
Garrett challenged Gibbs after the reporter heard from a number of Fox viewers who received Axelrod's e-mail without ever signing up for the White House e-mail list.
At the time, Gibbs pushed back, insisting that there had been no illegal coordination or e-mail sharing between Organizing for America — Obama's political wing at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — and the White House.
Gibbs asked to see the e-mails Garrett had received, sparking a heated exchange between them.
So did the Obama Administration hire Craig Livingstone as Chief Technology Officer?
Kinds sounds like it, doesn’t it?
Time for a special prosecutor.
I’m sure the hard drives that the data was stored on will be missing soon.
Yep, maybe already are, accidentally erased.
I hear the sites been shut down so I guess there is no explanation needed—just like when people start disappearing off the streets.
It would be good to get some of these e mails and post them here and analyze them for truthfulness.
Rep. Issa’s letter is the reason why the website was shut down. It is the same logic as motivated the Pentagon to cancel the activation orders of the Army Reserve major who was challenging President Obama’s authority as commander in cheif because it was not established that he is a “natural-born” citizen. When in a legal bind, take an action, even if it is temporarily embarassing, that makes the issue go away. The MSM will be more than willing to aid and abet in the process.
Cancel the orders (and, in retaliation, get the major fired from his defense contractor job), close down the website (archive the data according to the law) and fugetaboutit.
Very Chicago. (Well, except for the part about the offending party’s body NOT turning up riddled with bullets on the Lake Michigan shoreline . Okay, I’m stereotyping. They’ve actually gotten much better at disposing of bodies since then.)
I have seen the statute posted here that said fishy emails is illegal. Can someone please post if?
"DUH! Is this a trick question from one of those viscious Townhall Momsters?"
I believe you nailed it. They knew they were in over their head as soon as the site was questioned. Now that they’ve shut the email address down they want it to just go away and the enemedia will help with that but Issa and the Internet are a different thing, it might not just go away.
Excellent, Phil!
That’s a great pic of Gibby! :-)
When is Gibbs going to apologize to Garrett?
"After I do my Baghdad Bob impersonation, I go
into my Vinnie Barbarino act. Who? What? Where? "
Should have happened already but doubt it will.
LOL! Most appropriate, one’s about as believable as the other.
From my earlier post today(copy and pasted from another thread)
The Obama administration has likely broken several laws here. One is this:
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode05/usc_sec_05_00000552-—a000-.html
Also possibly the Privacy Act:
They are also breaking several campaign finance laws but don’t have those in front of me. The WH is not allowed to use official WH functions/services for campaign purposes.
Hope this helps. These are felonies in that they carry a possible prison sentence of over a year in a federal or state prison.
Excellent link:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2009/08/privacy_act_req.php
5 US Code §552a(e)(7) commands that any Federal agency
“(7) maintain no record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity;”
Rep Issa should ask who is going to be prosecuted...not just fired!
The WH has committed a felony.
FINALLY!!!
Axelrod could be Hitlers son! They look alike!
During the Bush administration, there’s always a liberal organization (or individual) who was willing to sue the administration simply to make the issue alive. So far, I haven’t seen the use of similar tactic from the conservatives.
Thanks for posting these links!
You are welcome. It is special prosecutor time!
You may question as to how I was able to ascertain your e-mail address and name, it is been given me by a trusted family advisor HONORABLE Rahm Emanuel, ESQUIRE, Barrister and Counsel. I am HIS EXCELLENCY Barack Hussein OBAMA, Junior, son of the late esteemed bureaucrat and Marxist Philosopher Barack Hussein OBAMA, Senior of Kenya. As I was elected PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES of AmeriKKKa in 2008, and was unfairly deposed on a technicality relating to my birth certificate and other minor issues in 2009. Whilst I was in the Executive palace, I was able to squirrel away several BILLIONS of USD, with the assistance of HONORABLE Timothy Giethner and my proud Princess and First Lady. What I propose is for you to forward, post haste, your banking and exchequer information to Mr. Barrister EMANUEL, in which we may deposit the profits from my short-lived REIGN, in exchange for, we will forward to you 1/20th of the FORTUNE, to the tune of $100 MILLION USD. Time is of the essence, as the newly installed PALIN administration is hot on our heels and we are also making ourselves scarce from Mr. Soros and his henchmen.
Has anyone Filed a FOIA request for the emails in question?
Probably protected by Presidential Priviledge.
I read something about the FOIA when this fiasco started and it was something to the effect it couldn’t be done for some years, don’t know if that’s true or not.
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