DNC - WBUR: Documents Reveal New Twist In Destroying Romney Staff Emails

http://www.wbur.org/2011/11/22/romney-emails

Documents Reveal New Twist In Destroying Romney Staff Emails

WBUR // Fred Thys

Published at 6:52 AM ET

Documents obtained by WBUR show that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s staff shortened the lease for computers in the governor’s office. The change in leases allowed the governor’s staff to wipe the hard drives on all the computers before returning them to the leasing company. It’s the latest development in the story of Romney and why his staff destroyed electronic records before he left office.

Reading the state’s conservation of public records law is a little bit like exploring an archaic document.

Pam Wilmot, the director of Common Cause Massachusetts, knows this first hand.

“Literally, they talk about records as if they’re paper and the percentage of animal product they have to have and the kind of glue and watermark, and all these other outdated concepts, and don’t talk about preserving electronic versions,” Wilmot said.

Massachusetts law does require the governor to turn over all emails to the state archives, even if they are not made public. They can be destroyed, but they have to be printed before they are wiped out. Two sources told WBUR that Romney’s staff did say they printed their emails before they destroyed them. Still, over the weekend, in the town hall in Peterborough, New Hampshire, Romney found himself trying to explain to reporters why 11 of his senior aides bought back their hard drives.

“Items that are personal or confidential, of course would not be appropriate to put in the public domain,” Romney said. “We’d be violating our trust in doing so.”

Romney said the documents his administration handed to the state archives provide a good view of how he worked.

“So we followed not only the law in Massachusetts, the precedent of prior governors and legislators, we went beyond that, providing 700 boxes of records,” Romney said.

Those were the paper records. Documents obtained by WBUR reveal yet another way Romney’s senior staff found reasons to destroy electronic records.

In 2005, Romney’s staff signed a three-year lease for the computers in the governor’s office. But the next year, in December, 2006, a month after Deval Patrick won the election, Romney’s staff signed a new lease, which began when Patrick took office, in January, 2007.

The new lease could be a completely innocuous attempt to give the new governor fresh computers. But it was standard practice to scrub the hard drives once a lease had expired, so changing the lease also allowed Romney’s staff to order the hard drives scrubbed before returning the old computers. We asked Romney’s campaign staff about this, but they didn’t get back to us.

DNC - Boston Globe: Democrats try fresh request to target Mitt Romney's records handling at end of term

http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/11/democrats-try-fresh-request-target-mitt-romney-records-handling-end-term/qqpSWFjqnYEe6IbrDdbZ8N/index.html

Democrats try fresh request to target Mitt Romney’s records handling at end of term

Boston Globe // Matt Viser

Published at 11:56 AM

The Democratic National Committee, continuing to target Mitt Romney, is filing more public information requests today to try and determine how and when his office disposed of records during the last few months of his term as Massachusetts governor.

The DNC is asking for all applications that would have allowed the outgoing Romney administration to transfer or destroy documents to the state archives. It is also asking for all correspondence related to the removal, destruction, or purchase of any public record, including a computer, hard drive, or disk.

The Globe reported last week that 11 of Romney’s aides took the unusual step of purchasing 17 hard drives from the governor’s office in 2006, just as Romney was leaving office and preparing for his first run for president.

The Romney administration also wiped the server for the governor’s office, as well as the remaining computers in the office, as they prepared to transfer power to Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat.

Over the weekend, Romney pointed out to reporters that his administration turned over paper records to the state archives in Dorchester.

“Under Massachusetts law, there is no provision asking either the governor or the Legislature to provide any information for the archives,’’ he said in New Hampshire. ‘‘We voluntarily decided to do something which is not required by law: We put together 700 boxes of material from our administration and provided that to the archives.’’

Romney also sought to explain why his aides purchased their hard drives, something that officials from past administrations said they had never heard of doing....

Full Story at: http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/11/democrats-try-fresh-request-target-mitt-romney-records-handling-end-term/qqpSWFjqnYEe6IbrDdbZ8N/index.html

DNC Files Two Additional Massachusetts Public Records Requests for Romney Administration Records

Washington, DC – Today the Democratic National Committee submitted two additional formal public records requests for Romney Administration records. The requests follow Boston Globe reports that top Romney aides purchased their state-issued computer hard drives and administration e-mails were wiped from their servers. Following the Globe’s report on November 17^th the DNC filed a public records requests to the Governor’s office; that request is available here.

 

Today’s requests are available here and here. The first request, addressed to the Massachusetts Archives requests documents, including those “related to the transfer or movement of any public record or document, in any form whatsoever, to the Massachusetts Archives or to any other location, or to the destruction of disposition in any manner of any document or material of any type.”

 

The second request, addressed to the Governor’s office supplements the previous DNC request made on November 17, 2011. The additional request includes “information that has come to light since the last request.” Included in the new request are for records of “the Governor’s authorization to staff requests for the acquisition of hard drives from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts” and requests “for permission to acquire hard drives, including any such records bearing on the legal basis for such requests, that reference or are authored by Natalie Crate, the then Governor’s personal assistant.” According the Globe’s reporting, Crate purchased three hard drives at the end of Romney’s term. 

 

Since this story first broke last week, both Romney and his campaign spokesperson have admitted that records were destroyed to prevent them from falling in the hands of his political opponents.

 

The full requests are available here and here.

DNC Files Massachusetts Public Records Request for Romney Administration Records

Washington, DC – The Democratic National Committee submitted a formal public records request to the State of Massachusetts for copies of email correspondence from former Governor Mitt Romney’s administration today.  This morning, the Boston Globe reported that top aides purchased their state-issued computer hard drives and administration e-mails were wiped from their servers.  Americans deserve to know whether the Romney administration deliberately sought to delete public records in anticipation of requests regarding Governor Romney’s record on a range of issues – from abortion to healthcare – and how he reached policy decisions when in office.

 

The full request is available HERE and below:

 

November 17, 2011

 

Mark Reilly, Chief Legal Counsel

Executive Office of the Governor

State House

Room 280

Boston, MA 2133

 

RE: Massachusetts Public Records Request

 

Dear Mr. Reilly,

 

This is a request under the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M. G. L. Chapter 66, Section 10).

I am requesting that I be provided a copy of the following records:

 

Ø Any and all electronic correspondence (i.e., email) between January 2, 2003 and January 4, 2007 to or from Beth E. Myers, Peter G. Flaherty, or any of the other nine (9) officials of Governor W. Mitt Romney’s Administration as identified in the Boston Globe article of November 17, 2011 (“Before leaving office, Romney staff wiped records”), who purchased a computer hard drive from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, relating to a request for such a purchase, the purposes of such a purchase, or the legal authority pursuant to which such purchases were made.

 

Ø Any and all Forms RCB-2 completed by Governor W. Mitt Romney or any employee of the Executive Office of the Governor between January 2, 2003 and January 4, 2007 and submitted to the Massachusetts Records Conservation Board that seek permission to destroy, take personal possession of, or remove from official premises, records, including a description of such records.

 

I recognize that you may charge reasonable costs for copies, as well as for personnel time needed to comply with this request.   As you may be aware, the Public Records Law requires you to provide me with a written response within 10 calendar days. 

 

Recognizing that it might require considerably more time, and involve more expense, we would also appreciate a fee estimate for locating and providing:

 

Ø Any and all electronic correspondence (i.e., email) to or from Governor W. Mitt Romney or Romney Administration officials between January 2, 2003 and January 4, 2007 containing any of the following terms in either the subject line or the body of the message: “delete emails,” “destroy records,” “government transparency,” “president,” “presidential,” “campaign,” “flip-flop,” “political expediency,” “move to the right,” “more conservative,” “change position,” “abortion,” “stem cell,” “guns,” “assault weapons ban,” “Right to Bear Arms Day,”  “climate change,” “global warming,” “carbon dioxide emissions,” “CO2 emissions,” “Planned Parenthood,” “Massachusetts Right To Life,” “raise taxes and fees,” “ranked 47^th in job creation,” and “Bush economic policies.” 

 

Title 950 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations §32.08(1) reads in relevant part, “the custodian, within ten days of the request for access, shall in writing set forth the reasons for such denial. The denial shall specifically include the exemption or exemptions in the definition of public records upon which the denial is based.”

 

If you cannot comply with my request, please specifically set forth the reasons as required by 950 C.M.R. §32.08(1).

 

Sincerely,

Laura Santucci

Democratic National Committee

[freekeenenews] Media Device Ban Extended to ALL NH Circuit (District) Courts

First, they came for Keene. It was this summer when “administrative
judge” Edwin Kelly wrote an “ORDER” banning all cameras and audio
recording devices from the district court in Keene. After that ban,
Derrick Horton and Jason Talley were arrested for using video cameras
in court lobbies.

Talley was arrested in “superior” court, where the same Keene-only ban
was enacted. (In reaction to the large activists-with-cameras presence
we have had here for a long time.) Thus far, the superior court ban
has not been expanded to all superior courts in NH, but as of 10/24 it
has been expanded to all of NH’s circuit courts, according to a new
“ORDER” from Edwin Kelly.

In a huge slap-in-the-face to the freedom of press, Kelly writes:

No cameras or audio equipment may be used in the lobby or other
public, noncourtroom, area of any courthouse;

You can’t even talk to this Kelly guy. His office is closed to the
public and they try to keep it secret. Plus, he just refuses to
comment. Why should he? You’ll keep paying his salary either way, and
he knows it.

(FYI: Now all district courts are called the verbose “Circuit Court –
District Division”.)

Please reach out if you have questions or would like to interview an
activist.

Ian Freeman
Blogger, FreeKeene.com
603-513-2449

http://freekeene.com/2011/10/25/media-device-ban-exteded-to-all-nh-circuit-district-courts/