General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Hillary's Email: How to deal with deleting selected items in a large amount of email. [View all]leveymg
(36,418 posts)wasn't permanently erased, we may find out this was a kerfluffle. But, on the surface, this is looking more and more like a cover-up. In politics, the appearance of impropriety also counts.
Yes, when one does discovery or disclosure in legal proceedings, automated search is commonly used for large datasets and documents. But, one does not simply throw out half the documents without further examination. One would have to produce the full set for examination by both sides. The irrelevant docs would be ruled inadmissible, but everyone would be satisfied a throrough production had been made. Her lawyers know that, but decided that the rules of civil procedure don't apply, so they chucked the normal procedures. Bad political mistake, as that creates the impression of a cover-up.