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| For Immediate Release | |
| Jun 4, 2001 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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Bush White House Finally Admits Clinton Staff Vandalism Six Months Later Federal Court Judge Considering Hearing Into Destruction of Hard Drive Data, E-mail and Other Computer Evidence By Departing Clinton-Gore Staff (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today demanded an apology from Bill Clinton spokesman Jake Siewert for an attack on it last week in The Washington Post over its investigations into the destruction of government property by departing staffers from the Clinton-Gore White House. Judicial Watch learned from confidential sources that the destruction included the improper “wiping” of computer hard drives and the theft of laptop computers. Other press reports talked of sabotage of White House e-mail and phone systems. The Bush White House, which continues to oppose Judicial Watch’s efforts before the federal court of The Honorable Royce C. Lamberth to look into this, finally admitted this weekend to The Washington Post that significant vandalism had taken place. Judge Lamberth has been considering for three months a request from Judicial Watch, heretofore opposed by the Bush Administration, to take limited depositions on the possible evidence destruction from Clinton-Gore and/or Bush White House officials. The issue comes in the context of Judicial Watch’s Filegate litigation on behalf of those Reagan and Bush (I) staffers and others whose FBI files were illegally taken by the Clinton-Gore White House. (Hillary Clinton is a defendant in this lawsuit.) It was in this case that Judicial Watch, thanks to White House whistleblowers, uncovered the related Clinton-Gore e-mail scandal. Last year, Jake Siewert (then Clinton-Gore White House press secretary) was criticized by Judge Lamberth for false statements about the e-mail scandal. “Frankly, I expect apologies from both Siewert and the Bush White House. The Bush White House called our concerns about destroyed evidence mere ‘hearsay’ and, using the Bush White House’s refusal to go public about the destruction of government property as cover, Siewert engaged in dissembling attacks on Judicial Watch and me. Perhaps now that they belatedly ‘discovered’ the vandalism of the Clinton-Gore staff, the Bush White House will reconsider its opposition in federal court to Judicial Watch’s request to investigate this matter,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. |
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