CEI’s Chris Horner Says Agency Has ‘Gone Bunker’ Over Growing Richard Windsor Scandal
Washington, D.C., January 14, 2013 – At about 4:55 p.m. on Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency finally complied with a court order to deliver the first of four sets of emails in response to a lawsuit filed by Christopher Horner, a senior fellow in the Center for Energy and the Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Here is Horner’s statement on the emails:
Where in the World is Richard Windsor?
EPA’s Court-Ordered Email Production Proves Agency Has “Gone Bunker”
Just before 5 pm on this deadline date for producing records, I received a hand-delivered CD and cover letter from the EPA in response to CEI v. EPA, now best known as the “Richard Windsor” suit. The delivery came under order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In short, this response is deeply troubling and seems to have gravely compounded the unlawful activity we have exposed involving a false identity assumed for federal recordkeeping purposes.
Problems begin with the cover letter, which states not the promised (to the court) first delivery of “approximately 3,000” but “more than 2,100 emails received or sent” by Jackson, on what EPA insists is her one non-public account.
“Waiter, the food was terrible, and the portions too small!”
First, 2,100 is two-thirds of the way to the agency’s commitment (possibly the agency also will determine two-thirds of 12,000 is sufficient, although we have our doubts). Perhaps seeking to take the air out of a growing scandal, EPA’s defective compilation boasts an impressively anemic content-to-volume ratio. It starts with Washington Post daily news briefs, then follows with Google alerts for “Lisa Jackson EPA” (none for “Richard Windsor”). Then EPA HQ national news clips. And so on. Rope a dope. Clever. Maybe too much so.
It seems EPA simply decided it had to produce a lot of something. Desperate to produce nothing at the same time, it came up with this. But in the details, the desperation shows through.
A big red flag in the cover letter is the claim that, “As you are aware” — with no support for how we know this, which we do not — “the Administrator uses one secondary official account to conduct EPA business,” then states these emails come from that one account.
In fact, the record is far more clear the Administrator likely has two such secondary or “alias” accounts: one as previous administrators have used, showing her name in the sent to/from box, and one that uses the false identity “Richard Windsor,” which neither Jackson nor EPA disputes is her account and which obviously does not reflect the administrator’s name.
At this time it is useful to remember EPA’s public statements earnestly but aggressively implied Windsor was just another secondary account. So EPA has some explaining to do.
So EPA is implying here – until a journalist or the court wrenches a straight answer to the question: Did you produce “Richard Windsor” emails? – that Jackson’s single alias account is the admitted-to, recently revealed “Richard Windsor.” After all, we know this alias account exists. EPA confirms it. So EPA’s implication in trying to waive away revelation of her alias account(s) – that she in fact does not have another EPA.gov account in her name, like all other administrators – is no longer operative.
Accepting this means the only EPA.gov email account Jackson used to correspond with EPA employees (including lawyers, presumably the EPA IG who has vowed to get to the bottom of this) was the false identity of “Richard Windsor.”
In that case, nearly everyone at EPA and throughout the ranks of senior Obama officials was in on the secret. Even though we know from sources and anecdotally this revelation came as a great surprise to Agency employees. Strike one.
Further, it means Jackson did not have an account she used to correspond outside of the Agency. Really. Meaning, either she did not correspond outside of EPA, or she used a private account.
No good answers or implications there. Yet EPA really wants to go there – as preferable, apparently, to just coming clean about Richard Windsor’s activities.
Staking out the position Jackson used only one secondary account signals the agency has gone bunker. Rather than search or produce from the Richard Windsor account, it is more likely the agency intends to in essence pretend it does not exist. Count as wasted that week EPA spent with all of the muttering to the contrary about its origin being a combination of her pet’s name and the town in which she once lived.
EPA would rather fight than snitch. Instructively, in EPA’s view, tempting Congress, the court and public opinion risks less fallout than revealing “Richard Windsor’s” correspondence.
This is both deeply distressing and entirely consistent with its approach throughout. But then again, frankly, what did you expect from a gang caught using false identity for federal record-keeping purposes? To just say ‘you caught me; now I’ll come clean?’
* This conclusion no longer would be operative if EPA established that in fact Lisa Jackson did communicate internally exclusively using the Richard Windsor address, however implausible that is, and even though that would simply then beg the troubling questions noted above.
BACKGROUND of key points to remember:
a.) CEI sought emails from Lisa Jackson’s secondary or “alias” email account(s) using one or more search terms: coal, climate, endanger, MACT
b) There is no record of any other senior official having ever created such an account using a false identity
c) EPA’s own memo informing the National Archivist of having discovered these accounts stated they always show the administrator’s name
d) 3 exemplars we have obtained from elsewhere all show “Richard Windsor”
e) This presents EPA with a fork in the road: Burrow deeper into the bunker, and interpret that this request sought only the secondary account that shows Jackson’s name, or come clean and search her various non-public, alias accounts
f) Even given EPA’s public spin when the Windsor identity was revealed – that the Windsor account is just another secondary account, a continuation of a practice every administrator has employed since Carol Browner – now, despite this spin, EPA claims Jackson had just one such account
g) if indeed EPA is producing only non-Windsor email, it really has decided to declare war on this one, risking the obvious fallout and revealing it truly has much to hide.
> See also: cei.org/richard-windsor for a story timeline.
> To schedule an interview with Christopher Horner, please email: bmac@cei.org
I think what is really funny about this entire charade (IE: flouting the FOI orders of the court and basically telling the court to screw off) is how this entire administration promised to be the most transparent ever. I mean, most of us knew it was just a lie but still its kind of funny to see the cover-ups and other nonsense.
I am keeping up the popcorn eating while I watch this charade play out. The more lies and the more they obfuscate the more this will just blow up in their faces. Mark my words, its just like watergate all over again. Stonewalling just gets more people interested in what is really going on.
But in other news, I think we are all interested in what is hidden in the Richard Windsor emails. Why go through all of this trouble of hiding the contents of these emails and even possibly risk jail from contempt of court if there is nothing to hide? There must be something fishy otherwise it just seems a waste of time. I hope the judges here have some sort of backbone to call these people out for what they did and actually do something about it. Send them and everyone else to jail until they do provide the emails!
Its not that hard. And its all within the judges power.
Yeah, it is kinda fuzzy. I ain’t no lawyer, but here’s what i gathered:
1) Only 2/3 of the promised emails were delivered
2) They mostly contained automated alerts from various public sources (Google, et al)
3) Based on #2, this isn’t likely a secondary account used for internal communications.
As EM Smith would say, there’s a “dig here” sign floating above it.
I wonder how many of the yet to be released Richard Windsor emails pertained to correspondence with Barack Obama’s alias email account(s)?
Call me a cynic, but I wouldn’t doubt that Obama and his whole leadership team each have such accounts and that there were/are lots of off-the-book discussions about Benghazi, Fast and Furious, and a whole bunch of other inept actions.
RE: “Transparency and Open Government” – http://m.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment
If you read that closely, the operative word is “should”. The only two affirmative statements are “I direct the Chief Technology Officer” to provide “recommendations for an Open Government Directive” and that “This memorandum shall be published in the Federal Register.” What a load of fluff.
Maybe this Open Government Directive (has it been issued as a directive yet?) contains something that the EPA is contravening.
John Brookes says:
January 15, 2013 at 2:15 am
Yeah. Someone from right wing organisation funded by who knows uses legal tactics to try and stop environmental action. Great work guys. Lets cheer him on.
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Two questions,
1. Would it be OK with you if the organisation in question was left wing? This matters … how?
2. Since when has hiding email been enviromental action? I missed the peer reviewed paper correlating email disclosure with atmospheric CO2 increases I guess, could you help me out with a citation?
Jeff Alberts says:
3) Based on #2, this isn’t likely a secondary account used for internal communications.
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No, the EPA has already admitted this was the primary account for internal communications.
“For more than a decade, EPA administrators have been assigned two official, government-issued email accounts: a public account and an internal account,” EPA said in a statement to POLITICO. “The email address for the public account is posted on EPA’s website and is used by hundreds of thousands of Americans to send messages to the administrator. The internal account is an everyday, working email account of the administrator to communicate with staff and other government officials.”
This is just a stonewalling tactic by the EPA. The same tactic was used in the Fast & Furious cover up.
2,100 emails were delivered because those were only benign emails of 12,000 the E.P.A. could find.
EPA’s “Richard Windsor” emails may be more of a sacrificial Red Herring. The EPA is far more likely to be doing worse behind closed doors, in off record meetings across the street, and under the table.
Just a guess, but I suspect that what they’re trying to hide is collaboration with green groups encouraging the groups to sue the EPA in order to force them to do what they otherwise aren’t authorized by law to do.
Man Bearpig: “What if you found that your President was using Yahoo! email account to discus covert military operations ?”
Versus say whispering to ones enemies … ‘Give me space,’ Obama said. ‘This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility’ to deal with missile defense.
Thomas says: “Lies, secrets, misdirection, propaganda, and we are supposed to respect these thugs?”
No, only your obedience is required. /sarc
Two aspects of this discussion strike me:
1. that the Court either lacks the means to seize the information it has ordered to be delivered, or is unwilling to employ such means to enforce its order
2. that the Court has no potential offender in its sights except a shape-shifting pseudo-entity named “the EPA”, which cannot be indicted or effectively punished (I note that various posters have cried “contempt of court”, but none have named the offender).
From this perspective, the Court’s order is merely intended to shore up the illusion that major American government agencies are subject to the rule of law.
TBear says:
January 14, 2013 at 9:50 pm
Sure there is something interesting going on here, but this post makes very hard reading. Read the whole post and have no idea what the issue is.
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Check out the link provided giving the history: http://cei.org/richard-windsor
In short the EPA was ordered by the court to hand over the e-mails by Lisa Jackson under the alias Richard Windsor by January 15. They did not. The EPA has stalled twisted and turned in its efforts to avoid complying with the initial FOIA requests back in April 2012. The EPA has also stonewalled the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and it continues on from there.
The EPA has gone completely rogue and Congress should be cutting their funding or abolishing it.
Oh and here is what is being said is the reason Jackson stepped down.
Please put down those coffee cups before reading.
Thomas says:
January 14, 2013 at 11:46 pm
It is piling on as increasingly clear that our government acts as the enemy of the people. Lies, secrets, misdirection, propaganda, and we are supposed to respect these thugs?
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I now think of DC as standing for the District of Criminals. Oh and just to give you a really warm fuzzy feeling
Egad, Obummer for life! Why in heck doesn’t he do something useful like try to repeal the Federal Reserve Act of 1913?
“So the EPA are not cooperating. Was anything else really expected? Now they will stonewall and play games of delay until this all fades away.”
History shows a President fell for far less obstruction. Break out the popcorn, this is going to get very messy for those involved in the coverups.
John Brookes says:
January 15, 2013 at 2:15 am
Yeah. Someone from right wing organisation funded by who knows uses legal tactics to try and stop environmental action. Great work guys. Lets cheer him on.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Well Johnny Boy, it sure beats the tactics of the left.
1. Lie,cheat and cherry pick so your pa;-reviewed paper is ‘politically correct’
2. Refuse to publish papers you don’t agree with
3. If the paper is published delay it so #1 type papers can swamp it.
4. Fire editors that don’t toe the line
5. Block all news coverage of science that is not ‘politically correct’
6. Lie about why the news coverage is slanted
7. Call your those who disagree names
8. Call the skeptics nutters and even go so far as to have a trumped up pal-reviewed paper published
And then there are the monkeywrenchers who commit criminal acts up to and including bombings, arson and murder thanks to people like you feeding them lies.
The basic difference I see between the right and the left is the right believes in morals, ethics, the rule of law and the scientific method. The left believes in doing anything if it advances “the Cause” Given a choice I rather have rulers who are right wing than left though I don’t like either.
(Johnny Boy is a frequent commenter at Jo Novas)
Ignore Brookes.
He’s a prolific (and exceptionally poor) troll over at Jo Nova’s
Lazy Teenager.
Why would Ms Jackson need an alias on her internal email?
DaveE.
One thing sorta jumps out:
“…CEI sought emails from Lisa Jackson’s secondary or “alias” email account(s) using one or more search terms: coal, climate, endanger, MACT…”
So a quick word search of the received e-mails shoud show that every single one of them actually contains those words. For those that don’t contain ANY of those words, they’re going to have to explain how their “word search” program works.
OK, now the Bear gets it, thanks to the helpful comments.
Shonky, eh?
BTW: we have the IPCC circus in Australia atm, right in the middle of a typical Australian summer heatwave. You guessed it, all the CAGW spinners are telling us we’re doomed! These people are just a joke.
Grrrrr ….
More of the standard tactic of substituting a “mission statement” for the reality. Having issue a high-sounding blurb, the issue is considered settled, and business as usual can continue.
typo: “having issued”