SPECIAL REPORT
The White House email controversy: our formal recommendations
By David Gewirtz
Based on our analysis, we've come up with six specific recommendations:
The Hatch Act is in conflict with national security concerns as regards White House email and must be amended to allow, if not require, White House staffers to use secured government systems for all email communication -- political or otherwise.
White House email needs to be managed by a dedicated IT team that lives across administrations, with a professionalism and procedural base similar to the Secret Service Presidential Protective Detail.
Political email for incumbents also needs to be managed by the same team.
Archiving needs to be managed by this same IT team, and the entire cumulative library of archives will need to be checked and migrated every four years as technology and file formats change.
We need a better understanding of phone/BlackBerry use, especially if these things get lost. We recommend that all mobile phones used by White House staffers be managed by this same IT team.
Although not directly an email issue, the conflict between the intent of the Presidential Records Act and Executive Order 12,233 needs to be explored. Information must be made free.
Let's discuss each in turn.
"If you take anything at all away from this series, let it be this: email in the White House needs to be fixed."
Recommendation: change the Hatch Act and/or its official guidelines The U.S. Office of Special Counsel lists a series of guidelines for executive branch employees of the federal government. These guidelines are:
These federal employees may:
Be candidates for public office in nonpartisan elections
Register and vote as they choose
Assist in voter registration drives
Express opinions about candidates and issues
Contribute money to political organizations
Attend political fundraising functions
Attend and be active at political rallies and meetings
Join and be an active member of a political party or club
Sign nominating petitions
Campaign for or against referendum questions, constitutional amendments, municipal ordinances
Campaign for or against candidates in partisan elections
Make campaign speeches for candidates in partisan elections
Distribute campaign literature in partisan elections
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