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Millions of 'lost' Bush emails recovered

Millions of White House emails that went missing during the Bush administration have been recovered following an extended court battle.

Around 22m messages spanning more than 90 days were declared missing in 2007, shortly after a scandal arose over the decision to fire nine federal prosecutors who had not toed the White House line.

The Obama administration said that its computer technicians had successfully recovered the lost data, in what campaigners called a victory in the attempt to clear up the "electronic data mess" left behind by Bush officials.

The White House is legally obliged to maintain copies of all the communication it sends, including email, under the Presidential Records Act - brought in after the Watergate scandal in the 1970s as a way of preserving evidence of activities conducted by presidential staffers.

Related Links

  • National Coalition for History: Obama Administration Settles Lawsuits Over Missing Bush White House E-Mails
  • Read entire article at Guardian (UK)