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I take seriously the idea that officials' email conduct should be 100% transparent and available to the public record. Clearly there were efforts made to circu

I take seriously the idea that officials' email conduct should be 100% transparent and available to the public record. Clearly there were efforts made to circumvent the accountability measures that were in place. I don't care whether or not HRC is convicted or anything like that, but I think at present we don't really know, as some of the evidence was not available to the investigation. This kind of basic accountability and transparency is essential to the proper functioning of democracy.

pbreit 10y ago
Probably email should just be immune from FOIA requests (like phone calls) and we could have avoided all this.
- grandalf 10y ago
  I hope you're joking. Having all of the correspondence and conduct of our elected officials subject to archival (even if classified for several decades) is a crucial aspect of democratic governance.
  - pbreit 10y ago
    Not joking. It's not crucial at all. Lots of communication is not preserved (eg, phone calls, face to face).
neaden 10y ago
Serious question, why do you think that when it comes to emails? Do you also think all of their phone calls should be recorded to make sure they don't just shift any illegal conversations to that? Should all politicians wear a body camera at all times, so we can make sure they aren't meeting lobbyists after hours?
- grandalf 10y ago
  Yes, I do think all of their phone calls used for official business should be recorded, perhaps to be classified for a number of years but eventually released. I would also support the body camera idea, and would like them to wear one even in meetings to discuss classified material. The recordings would be classified, but could eventually be declassified a few decades later. Think about how much highly relevant American history is still classified. While there are some (narrow) cases where information should be secret for a limited time, I do not think that the public should give up its right to access the communications of elected officials. In the past, the minutes from a meeting would be recorded and classified. The modern equivalent is recording/archiving/classifying all official conduct. I'm not saying I want to read HRC's emails, but the idea that there were secret correspondences that she undertook while in office and took pains to hide from the public record should be troubling to all of us. The notion that historians might review the emails after they were declassified in 20 years is enough of a disincentive for corrupt behavior to warrant capturing and preserving the information. We've seen in the past dozen years that our officials have hidden and classified information simply to avoid embarrassment or as part of a disinformation strategy aimed at the American people. Doing this should not be possible and should not be a temptation to officials when deciding on a course of action.
- julianj 10y ago
  I believe that all official records should be preserved. There are regulatory standards that apply to corporations regarding the retention of records -- including emails. One example is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These kinds of rules were put in place in an attempt to combat fraud. Why should the federal government be exempt from retaining emails?

pbreit 10y ago

Probably email should just be immune from FOIA requests (like phone calls) and we could have avoided all this.

grandalf 10y ago
I hope you're joking. Having all of the correspondence and conduct of our elected officials subject to archival (even if classified for several decades) is a crucial aspect of democratic governance.
- pbreit 10y ago
  Not joking. It's not crucial at all. Lots of communication is not preserved (eg, phone calls, face to face).

neaden 10y ago

Serious question, why do you think that when it comes to emails? Do you also think all of their phone calls should be recorded to make sure they don't just shift any illegal conversations to that? Should all politicians wear a body camera at all times, so we can make sure they aren't meeting lobbyists after hours?

grandalf 10y ago
Yes, I do think all of their phone calls used for official business should be recorded, perhaps to be classified for a number of years but eventually released. I would also support the body camera idea, and would like them to wear one even in meetings to discuss classified material. The recordings would be classified, but could eventually be declassified a few decades later. Think about how much highly relevant American history is still classified. While there are some (narrow) cases where information should be secret for a limited time, I do not think that the public should give up its right to access the communications of elected officials. In the past, the minutes from a meeting would be recorded and classified. The modern equivalent is recording/archiving/classifying all official conduct. I'm not saying I want to read HRC's emails, but the idea that there were secret correspondences that she undertook while in office and took pains to hide from the public record should be troubling to all of us. The notion that historians might review the emails after they were declassified in 20 years is enough of a disincentive for corrupt behavior to warrant capturing and preserving the information. We've seen in the past dozen years that our officials have hidden and classified information simply to avoid embarrassment or as part of a disinformation strategy aimed at the American people. Doing this should not be possible and should not be a temptation to officials when deciding on a course of action.
julianj 10y ago
I believe that all official records should be preserved. There are regulatory standards that apply to corporations regarding the retention of records -- including emails. One example is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These kinds of rules were put in place in an attempt to combat fraud. Why should the federal government be exempt from retaining emails?