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White House Aides Broke Rules on E-Mails

Staff used political channels for government business

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 19, 2007 12:46 PM CDT

(Newser) – Hundreds of thousands of White House e-mails sent on Republican National Committee accounts have been deleted or are missing, an apparent violation of the law governing presidential records. The Washington Post reports that Karl Rove personally sent or received 140,000 e-mails, more than half of which appear to be official White House business.

The House committee investigating the e-mails revealed yesterday that 88 White House officials used political accounts—not the 50 previously acknowledged—and the RNC says it has no records for 51 of them. Congressional Democrats suspect that White House aides used their political accounts for official business to avoid scrutiny or having to produce them in some future investigation.

Presidential advisor Karl Rove, right, and White House Counsel Fred Fielding, center, leave the Capitol after meeting with senators Thursday, May 24, 2007 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren... (Associated Press)

President Bush gestures during a ceremony to welcome NCAA championship teams to the White House on Monday, June 18, 2007 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press)

Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, right, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, left, sit in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 24, 2007, during President Bush's news... (Associated Press)

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Staff used political channels for government business

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