Senator Patrick Leahy had no comment about a new House GOP report that shows member of the White House staff conducting official business with private email accounts in order to sidestep the law. Neither did the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) a left-leaning group that mostly targets Republicans. Surprisingly, Rep. Henry Waxman did offer a comment which was implicitly critical of the White House:
The Presidential Records Act was enacted to ensure that White Houserecords are preserved for history and are owned by the American people,”Waxman said. “Everyone who is covered by the law should follow it,regardless of which party controls the White House.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce published a report Tuesday which documented multiple instances in which the White House staff including Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina had sidestepped the law by using private email for official business. This is just one of many ways the White House has found to sidestep legally mandated record keeping on who is meeting with and talking to staff.
Sam Stein at the Huffington Post wrote a story playing down the revelations, but he did contact groups and individuals who had been outspoken in their condemnation of the Bush administration to get their take. Senator Leahy was shocked, shocked about this issue in 2007 and compared the Bush administration to the Nixon administration. This week, he refused to comment about the Obama administration doing the same thing.
Rep. Waxman at least offered a tepid attempt at balance, saying everyone should follow the law. Notice he’s not saying the Obama White House didn’t follow the law only that they should. This is probably as much outrage as the left will muster about the behavior they found outrageous just a few years ago. It’s a lot like the anti-war movement that evaporated as soon as their candidate was in office.
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