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| For Immediate Release | |
| Nov 13, 2000 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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Judge Wanted to Personally Inspect Security Conditions of White House E-Mail Tapes Surprise Inspection Took Place November 6, 2000 (Washington, DC) A federal court judge, The Honorable Royce Lamberth, conducted a surprise inspection of e-mail tapes at the Clinton-Gore White House that had been previously been hidden from him and another investigators. The inspection, announced today during a court hearing, took place November 6, 2000 at the White House’s New Executive Office Building. Judge Lamberth gave the White House two hours notice of his inspection. Judge Lamberth said that he examined the area where the tapes housing the e-mail were stored, and examined logs showing who had access to the tapes. He also examined the security of procedures used to copy the tapes for production of e-mail to the Court. Judge Lamberth also reminded White House official Charles Easley, the successor to Craig Livingstone (of FBI files infamy), that he would him personally accountable if anything happened to the tapes. Easley now has custody of the e-mail tapes. Judge Lamberth announced that he was confident that the tapes were secure for now. The tapes at issue contain Clinton-Gore White House e-mail that had been hidden from Judge Lamberth and other investigators for nearly two years. Judicial Watch uncovered the e-mail through White House whistleblower Sheryl Hall, who said that White House officials threatened Northrop Grumman computer contractors to keep the e-mail secret. The scandal is being pursued by Judicial Watch in its ongoing Filegate civil lawsuit on behalf of those Reagan and Bush staffers and others whose FBI files were taken and misused by this White House. “We applaud Judge Lamberth for conducting the surprise inspection to ensure that the Clinton-Gore White House is not tampering with e-mail evidence. Judicial Watch still believes, however, that the best way to secure the e-mail tapes is for the Court to take custody directly, as the temptation to destroy the evidence will only increase with the impending end of the Clinton-Gore Administration,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. |
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