Jeb Bush's Emails: Why Are So Many Key Episodes MIA?

[Octafish]

The 250,000-plus messages he released say almost nothing about the 2000 recount and other major controversies of his governorship.

By Pema Levy and Sam Brodey
Mother Jones | Fri Apr. 10, 2015

When the New York Times revealed that Hillary Clinton used a private email address as secretary of state, GOP presidential candidate-in-waiting Jeb Bush pounced. "Transparency matters," he tweeted, linking to the archive of his own emails that he had made public a month earlier.

But Bush is hardly in a position to take potshots at Clinton over her emails. Like Clinton, he conducted government business using a personal email account (two of them, actually). He released only a portion of his correspondence from his time as governor of Florida. And it took Bush more than seven years to hand over his self-selected emails, as required under a Florida public records law.

Moreover, Bush's email archive, which includes more than 250,000 messages, has produced no piercing insights or major news stories about his gubernatorial stint. There are an immense number of emails from constituents weighing in on the issues of the day. But when it comes to the major issues of his governorship, there are—curiously—very few, if any, emails between Bush and his aides. This email archive is not easy to search. It is comprised of 248 separate files and is hardly user-friendly. But employing the most obvious search terms for key episodes that occurred during his governorship, as well as combing messages covering certain time periods, we mounted an extensive review of this gigantic collection of correspondence and looked for emails about the most important moments of Bush's eight years leading the Sunshine State. This search yielded little correspondence revealing Bush's actions and decisions regarding pivotal events. It turns out that what's most notable about Bush's email trove is what's not in it.


THE 2000 ELECTIONS

When the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore came down to Florida, Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Katherine Harris found themselves at the center of the political universe. Bush's email archive contains reams of messages that poured in from constituents during the controversial recount process, but there are barely any notes between Bush and his aides.

The day after the election—which ultimately took 36 days, several Florida court rulings, and a final intervention by the US Supreme Court to resolve—Bush officially recused himself from the election certification process. But an investigation by the Los Angeles Times found that Jeb Bush's office and top aides were in contact with his brother's legal team and other top members of George W. Bush's staff during the recount. Jeb officially handed the state's 25 electoral votes to his brother on November 26, while court battles over the recount were still underway, and indicated he would sign legislation to preempt the courts and give the election to his brother. But if Bush and his top aides were discussing these important decisions or communicating with George W. Bush's team, it does not show up in Jeb's email archive. The archive does include Jeb Bush's responses to a few constituents. When one emailed to ask Bush to certify the election, he responded: "I am doing what i can within the laws of our state."

CONTINUED...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/jeb-bush-emails-key-episodes-mia

[tazkcmo]

1. Clinton and Bush

Apparently they have more in common than we knew.

[Octafish]

2. A lot more.

Take Phil Gramm. Please.

Since repeal of Glass-Steagal, he's specialized in all kinds of Wealth Management as vice chair of UBS, home of the Bankster Bailout, with friends, of course:

http://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/revitalizingamerica/SenatorPhilGramm.html

[951-Riverside]

5. I'll say

1983:

[Gothmog]

3. If Jeb is the GOP nominee, then the Hillary e-mail server issue will be moot

In 2012, the GOP thought that the ACA would be a winning issue but with Romney as the nominee these attacks fell flat. Romney was not believable in his attacks on the ACA given that he was the grandfather of the ACA. In 2016, Jeb will be unable to use the e-mail issue against HRC. Jeb has more exposure on this issue than HRC

[Octafish]

12. Excellent observation.

What makes me sad is that Secretary of State Clinton had to use an off-the-books email system in order to avoid having her stuff read by prying cough NSA eyes. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems the people I've met in gov service recently are running at an all-time paranoia high.

As for Jeb, the guy's got a history going back to his days wanking about with his brother for their father's NOC shops. I'd say he's a crook, but I'd be repeating myself.

[libdem4life]

4. You know, those darn servers just seem to always be glitching. Next? n/t

[midnight]

6. Walkergate: What's In Your Dumpster? E-mails?

"From what I have learned, the dumpster was indeed moved and had to have a lock broken or cut open. Inside, the dumpster was reportedly full of papers of some sort. What kind is unknown, but it took a number of deputy sheriffs and staff from the District Attorney's office to go through and they are probably still sorting through them

Your guess at what those papers are would be as good as mine, but the first thing I thought of was the missing files that were reported shortly after Walker and his entourage left the courthouse at the end of 2010:
The dozens of Walker's file cabinets were virtually emptied of their contents by the end of last month, and 16 bankers' boxes of records retrieved this week from storage by aides to Holloway appear well short of the total paper-load once held in the courthouse's third-floor executive suite.

A tour this week of the sparsely staffed offices revealed banks of empty file drawers, save a set of various bureaucratic forms, county budget books and one stack of papers on various issues left in the office of Fran McLaughlin, who was Walker's county spokeswoman."



http://cognidissidence.blogspot.com/2012/02/walkergate-whats-in-your-dumpster.html

[UTUSN]

7. Yip"transparency" about the inanities, nothing on the MediCARE scam businesses, the

1stGenCuban/CIA partners, the suitcases of cash.

[Initech]

8. I'll take "Covering Your Ass" for $400, Alex.

[blkmusclmachine]

9. IOKIYAR

[libodem]

10. God he looks like Bar

Whiten up his hair and you have a dead ringer.

[MADem]

11. When "The Media" bothers to give a shit about the FIVE MILLION emails that are missing from the

White House during some of the most profound aspects of the horrific Bush administration, then maybe I'll worry about emails about spa appointments. The ONLY reason that "emails" are suddenly in the news is because some assholes were going after one very specific politician.

This whole email "gate" bullshit is just another attempt to shitfling at Clinton. The more they pull this crap, the more it makes me want to campaign for her.

Good for Mother Jones for pointing out the utter horse shit and using a GOP candidate to drive home the point--I'm quite sure he's not the only one who has an off-brand email account, either. Extra points for the illustrations: