'Richard Windsor' seems to be a governmental 'everyman' issue

It seems that the Associated Press has taken notice of what CEI’s Chris Horner first reported (here at WUWT and elsewhere) about the EPA’s secret email alias of “Richard Windsor” and has found the same sort of off the books emails to be common in other cabinet political appointees. Thanks to Chris for his hard work leading to the awakening of the MSM to this issue. – Anthony

Emails of top Obama appointees remain a mystery

WASHINGTON (AP) – Some of President Barack Obama’s political appointees, including the Cabinet secretary for the Health and Human Services Department, are using secret government email accounts they say are necessary to prevent their inboxes from being overwhelmed with unwanted messages, according to a review by The Associated Press.

The scope of using the secret accounts across government remains a mystery: Most U.S. agencies have failed to turn over lists of political appointees’ email addresses, which the AP sought under the Freedom of Information Act more than three months ago. The Labor Department initially asked the AP to pay more than $1 million for its email addresses.

The AP asked for the addresses following last year’s disclosures that the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency had used separate email accounts at work. The practice is separate from officials who use personal, non-government email accounts for work, which generally is discouraged – but often happens anyway – due to laws requiring that most federal records be preserved.

“What happens when that person doesn’t work there anymore? He leaves and someone makes a request (to review emails) in two years,” said Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, an open government group. “Who’s going to know to search the other accounts? You would hope that agencies doing this would keep a list of aliases in a desk drawer, but you know that isn’t happening.”

Full story here: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20130604/DA6MPFHG2.html

The climate data they don't want you to find — free, to your inbox.
Join readers who get 5–8 new articles daily — no algorithms, no shadow bans."
0 0 votes
Article Rating
45 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Janice Moore
June 4, 2013 4:44 pm

Richard Windsor, LOL, you know that isn’t your real name. #[:)]
****************************************************************
So, anyway, tell us, Mr. (cough) Windsor, what’s with all the 007 super-top-secret nonsense? What in the WORLD could E.P.A. have to hide? New missile guidance software? Names of C.I.A. covert agents (who are still covert)?
None of that?
Guess your redacting is CLEARLY an attempt to deceive, then.
GO TO JAIL. Go directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect one hundred dollars.
Boy, what I wouldn’t give to say that to some of those Demonocrats!!!
(and, to poster, The Last Democrat, I would not include you, all your posts show you are not a typical, unthinking, Democrat, but, (head shake) why do you trumpet the fact?….)

Janice Moore
June 4, 2013 5:08 pm

Thanks, D. B. Stealey for the link (at 0837 today) to the hilarious (redundant, I know) P. J. O’Rourke essay on NASA and politicians, etc… . LOL.

Luther Wu
June 4, 2013 5:19 pm

Janice Moore says:
June 4, 2013 at 4:31 pm
____________________
donkey shoes danke shoen

NotARealCimateScientist
June 4, 2013 5:59 pm

I for one can’t wait until Richard Windsor wins the next Nobel Peace Prize.

Kevin Kilty
June 4, 2013 7:02 pm

Regarding the honors and training bestowed upon Richard Windsor, can anyone comment on whether or not it cost the Federal Government anything to bestow these honors and certificates, or to otherwise administer them; and, if so, would these constitute false claims?

Janice Moore
June 4, 2013 7:16 pm

Hi, Luther — Deutsche, of course. Cute.
Bitte.

Janice Moore
June 4, 2013 7:27 pm

“… can’t wait until Richard Windsor wins the next Nobel Peace Prize. ” [Not a Real Climate Scientist] LOL
Hey, might not be waiting long! If a fraud like the Empty Suit can win it for doing nothing but managing to keep all his academic records and other certifications (ahem) hidden, being the mascot of law review, and voting “present” a good part of the time (except when he was one of only two Illinois state senators vehemently opposing the Infant Born Alive protection act c. 2006), why not a nominal entity?

June 4, 2013 7:51 pm

I don’t blame employees. I don’t blame politics This is a direct consequence of the nature of coercive government. The actions of its agents must remain secret for it to project an illusion of legitimacy.

kadaka (KD Knoebel)
June 4, 2013 8:20 pm

Let us not lose sight of the important part of this:
Which email addresses were used to order the hookers and blow?
Is that why the “Richard Windsor” emails are so heavily redacted, too much mixing of “business” and pleasure?
Wait a minute. That could yield a legitimate reason for some of the redacting. It would be prudent to redact the account numbers of their expense accounts and government credit cards that they sent by email to purchase their “party favors”, to keep them out of the unscrupulous hands of so-called “government accountability activists”.
See, sometimes the government really does things for the benefit of the public, rather than just “for the public’s own good”.

Janice Moore
June 4, 2013 9:35 pm

Hey, K.D., I think you’re on to something. LOL, all that bumblingly ham-handed, blanket redacting which makes them look REALLY guilty is actually comforting (in a way).
I mean, just think how much more of our liberty they would have seized by now if they weren’t such “[stupid] [idiots],” Rahm Emmanuel (2010).

Lil Fella from OZ
June 4, 2013 10:52 pm

Transparency that you cannot see through!

RockyRoad
June 4, 2013 11:42 pm

Richard Windsor says:
June 4, 2013 at 10:47 am

I’m just as real as any other government employee.

With that established, can we see your emails, now?

kadaka (KD Knoebel)
June 5, 2013 12:41 am

From RockyRoad on June 4, 2013 at 11:42 pm:

With that established, can we see your emails, now?

By established playground protocol, the response should be “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
But adults are involved, who are employed by government. Thus the response is:
I can neither confirm nor deny I already have read your emails, you are free to try to request mine by the FOIA. Oh BTW, I can also neither confirm nor deny the person you’re meeting for lunch at Cafe Caliente next Tuesday at 12:30pm is about to get a massive multi-year audit from the IRS after posting an anonymous patently untrue slur against our beloved President at a Huffington Post article, so it would be best for you to cut off all contact with them immediatey, wink wink, nudge nudge.

June 5, 2013 5:07 am

Secret government email accounts used for obfuscation of history. This guy approves of them.
(I know who he votes for.)
{ Brad says:
June 4, 2013 at 8:43 am
“At least they are using government accounts. Bush administration used Yahoo and Gmail accounts and then destroyed them prior (or after?) being served subpoenas.”}
He doesn’t like GWB though.

old construction worker
June 5, 2013 6:13 am

Kevin Kilty says: “Regarding the honors and training bestowed upon Richard Windsor, can anyone comment on whether or not it cost the Federal Government anything to bestow these honors and certificates, or to otherwise administer them; and, if so, would these constitute false claims?”
Did the “Fake Employee” have a government ID#? Was “He” on the Government payroll? What was the pay grade? Did the government issue paychecks to “Fake Employee” “Richard Windsor”? How many “Fake Employees” are there in Washington, DC “working” for the government?

Hal Javert
June 5, 2013 1:55 pm

Brad says June 4, 2013 at 8:43 am
At least they are using government accounts. Bush administration used Yahoo and Gmail accounts and then destroyed them prior (or after?) being served subpoenas
=================================================
Here’s a new concept for you, Brad: if it’s wrong (not to mention illegal), then it’s wrong for everybody. Got that? Something about “…a nation of laws…”.
On the other hand, I’m comforted you’ve assured us these new guys are all using [secret] government email accounts, not Yahoo & Gmail. It never crossed my mind to ask how you know that…
Am I the only one to notice that Brad seemed to have fired off one troll-gram and quickly left the building?

June 5, 2013 2:19 pm

Stephen Rasey says:
June 4, 2013 at 8:23 am
The issue should not be that government employees and appointees have more than one email address. Good heavens, I have 3 live ones; one I use for one-time registrations that will likely spam me.
The real issue is that the multiple email addresses, and even time-limited email addresses, are not properly administered, inventoried, accounted for, and automatically included in FOIA requests. It should not be necessary to specify the email address in an FOIA — only “all emails used by Secretary X in the period Y1 to Y2.” Whether it was KGS2@hhs.gov, or KGS3 or KGS4987 is irrelvant to the request.

Mark and two Cats says:
June 4, 2013 at 8:32 am
Most transparent administration EVAR!

==============================================================
It all depends on what is “transparent”. Is it actions taken or the methods used to hide the actions taken?

June 5, 2013 5:17 pm

old construction worker says:
June 5, 2013 at 6:13 am
……. How many “Fake Employees” are there in Washington, DC “working” for the government?

========================================================
None. It seems they think we work for them.
Ever read “Animal Farm”?

June 5, 2013 7:43 pm

Chris Horner on Kudlow Report tonight. Romney on tomorrow evening.
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?play=1&video=3000173437

Chad Wozniak
June 6, 2013 12:50 pm

So much for transparancy, by the most tyrannical, ignorant, delusional, mean-spirited, corrupt, abusive, wasteful and mendacious administration in US history.