bush-cheney '04 campaign lawyers to provide e-mail data to rep. henry waxman

on may 1, 2007, after a meeting with
some fo the bush-cheney 2004 lawyers,
rep. henry waxman wrote a follow-up
request to the lawyers for the 2004
bush-cheney campaign -- to begin to
gather basic data about the the use
of non-governmental e-mail by white
house officials during the last presi-
dential election cycle. . . the second
aim of his letter is to gather data
about the presentations made to agencies,
and others in government about republican
election cycle goals and related matters,
a la lurita doan's hosting of one such
presentation -- at the governmental
services administration, on federal
property, and during the federal work-day. . .

here it is:

May 1, 2007

Mr. Eric A. Kuwana
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
East Lobby, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20007 -5201

Dear Mr. Kuwana:

Thank you for meeting with Committee staff yesterday regarding White House officials' use of Bush Cheney '04 e-mail accounts. I am writing to request additional information regarding these accounts.

Since March, the Committee has been investigating the use of nongovernmental e-mail accounts by White House officials and possible Presidential Records Act and Hatch Act violations that may have arisen from that use. Three congressional investigations have found that White House officials used nongovernmental e-mail accounts to conduct official business or communicate with agency officials.

At the briefing, you estimated that between 8 and 12 White House officials had e-mail accounts provided to them by the Bush Cheney'04 campaign. You said that starting in May 2003 and continuing through the 2004 election, these officials were provided with equipment -- such as laptops, blackberries, or other devices -- that enabled them to log into their campaign accounts from within the White House complex. You also said that in October 2003, the campaign established a policy of deleting e-mails from campaign servers after 30 days. For at least three White House officials, however, you indicated that this 30-day deletion policy was either suspended or was not in place and that the servers currently have more than 30 days worth of e-mails.

To further the Committee's understanding of White House officials' use of accounts maintained by the Bush Cheney'04 campaign, I request that you provide the following information by May 15, 2007:

1. Copies of policies, guidance, and procedures governing the use and preservation of the email accounts maintained by the Bush Cheney '04 campaign that have been used by White House officials, including the October 2003 memorandum describing a 30-day deletion policy for all e-mails and any directions provided to the campaign's outside vendor regarding storage and preservation of campaign e-mails;

2. Copies of communications between the campaign and any government entity regarding the use of campaign e-mail accounts by White House offrcials, including communications about the preservation, storage, or destruction of communications transmitted using these accounts;

3. The identity of all White House officials who held Bush Cheney'04 e-mail accounts;

4. The date range for which each of these accounts was active and maintained on a campaign server;

5. The total number of e-mails sent by each White House official through a Bush Cheney '04 e-mail account during each calendar year;

6. The total number of e-mails received by each White House official through a Bush Cheney '04 e-mail account during each calendar year;

7. The total number of e-mails sent by each White House official through a Bush Cheney '04 e-mail account to a ".gov" e-mail account during each calendar yea4 and

8. The total number of e-mails received by each White House official through a Bush Cheney '04 e-mail account from a ".gov" e-mail account during each calendar year.

In addition, I request that you provide to the Committee by May 29, 2007, all electronic communications sent or received by White House officials using accounts maintained by the Bush Cheney '04 campaign that relate to (1) any briefing regarding a past or future federal or state election that was given at a federal agency or to a group of federal employees assembled during the work day by a federal employee, or (2) the use or proposed use of federal agencies or resources to assist a Republican candidate for federal or state office.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee in the House of Representatives and has broad oversight jurisdiction as set forth in House Rule X. An attachment to this letter provides additional information about how to respond to the Committee's request.

If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact David Rapallo or Anna Laitin with the Committee staff at (202) 225-5420.