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Government Official Admits Deleting Text Messages After Ex-Im Bank FOIA Request

Tyler Durden's picture




 

In today's consequence-less world - where only the poor are punished - news that a top official at a controversial U.S. export finance agency deleted text messages sent within days of the 2014 midterm elections after a watchdog group filed an open records request for the messages, will come as no surprise whatsoever. The 'excuse' given by Ex-Im Bank's chief of staff Scott Schloegel  - because as we saw yesterday, there is no accountability - he "deleted, by mistake, the messages on my phone for the period in question." Most transparent administration ever...

With funding for the Ex-Im Bank is set to expire at the end of the month, and Congressional Republicans indicating that that they will allow it to do so, effectively shutting down the agency, the controversial crony capitalism creating agency will continue to make headlines. But as Free Beacon reports, the details may never actually come out as to just what this group did...

The watchdog group, Cause of Action, filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Nov. 14 asking for text messages sent or received by top officials at the U.S. Export-Import Bank from Nov. 2 to Nov. 8.  said the deletion amounts to “unlawful destruction of federal records” in a legal complaint filed on Wednesday.

 

Ex-Im responded months later, saying in a May reply that messages from Scott Schloegel, the chief of staff and senior vice president, “were accidentally deleted on approximately January 1, 2015,” more than a month after Cause of Action filed its FOIA request.

 

Schloegel signed a sworn declaration in March attesting that he “deleted, by mistake, the messages on my phone for the period in question.”

 

...

 

“The fact that a top official at the Export-Import Bank deleted his text messages several weeks after our organization asked to see them raises serious questions,” Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s executive director, said in a statement. “Furthermore, it’s puzzling that it took the Bank another four months to let us know that this happened.”

*  *  *

We leave it to "Cause of Action"'s Epstein to conclude:

“The public deserves to know what their government is up to, and we will work tirelessly to continue to hold these federal agencies accountable."

Indeed it does.

 

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Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:00 | 6234102 Bastiat
Bastiat's picture

This should be it's own story at zh;   see it at Drudge:  "Reason Mag Editor Speaks Out -- How Feds asked me to rat out commentators"

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/25/how-the-feds-asked-me-t...

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:08 | 6234142 greenskeeper carl
greenskeeper carl's picture

so what, can't they just FOIA the NSA for their copy?

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:07 | 6234133 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Like those text messages aren't in an NSA or telecom database still.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:40 | 6234292 Bobbo
Bobbo's picture

Where they are TOTALLY SAFE from prying eyes ....

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:19 | 6234147 JustObserving
JustObserving's picture

The public deserves to know what their government is up to

That is so optimistic when the entire country is run by a Deep State - the public only gets spied upon and gets ridicule and fake media and GMO foods and fluoridated water, not to mention expensive eternal wars against a faceless, stateless entity called terror.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:42 | 6234297 Bobbo
Bobbo's picture

JO:  A perfectly Reasonable and Just observation I do believe.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:10 | 6234151 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

There is no law exept the law of reality.  Once the oligarch is done fleecing the sheep the rule of reality will come like a great storm and wash everything away.  When this happens you will want to own silver.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:19 | 6234205 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

There is one.The Law of the Jungle, it seems to be fully operative.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:52 | 6234340 Soul Glow
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The law of brute force always supercedes genius because genius must learn your "Law of the Jungle" to beat it.  Of course Bush, Clinton, and Obama use brute force, they have no other option.  They want control and control uses force.

The freedom of genius is to know one day everything must die, and empires are no different.  We are waiting so why not wait with patience.  Stock up and buy silver.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:59 | 6234376 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

I keep mislaying mine.If I could find it I'd be well stocked, thanks.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:15 | 6234187 City_Of_Champyinz
City_Of_Champyinz's picture

FUCKING CORRUPT COCKSUCKERS!

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:22 | 6234218 SMC
SMC's picture

This government is it's own worst enemy...  "Just Us" are slowly killing themselves by a thousand cuts.

The final chapters of this comedy show are going to be epic!  ROFL!

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:22 | 6234220 kowalli
kowalli's picture

liberal and democratic government is even worse than nazi

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:32 | 6234253 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

repost..good luck all.

read at your own risk, post at a real risk..editor under order to reveal nothing to commentors or to even report they had request of ID of posters..from the same DA who let corzine go free,,,

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/25/how-the-feds-asked-me-t...

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:56 | 6234358 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

OT: Miram Carey murder follow up,,she never got out of her vehicle..even thought those of us posting video links clearly shows her standing by her car,( a car with NO damage front or rear) this same car that is claimed by Feds rammed multile barriers..the video available then does not show any evidence other than a car chase..she was shot dead for traffic violations and the goons who did it walk free..Amerika. read the us attorney's report IMO full of lies. most video of this has gone dark. hope that us attorney does not target me.

http://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/us-attorney-s-office-concludes-investi...

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:39 | 6234288 Bobbo
Bobbo's picture

The Guilt Ate My Evidence !

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 13:40 | 6234291 dogismycopilot
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who said slavery was over.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 14:09 | 6234417 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

Justice Scalia has said words no longer matter.

It is now official, we are a country ruled by men not by laws.

Contracts...who cares...are you a friend or not?

Commit a crime?...not if we say no.

Do something we don't like?...could be a crime...let me look...yep...it was a crime.

Now more than ever it is time to figure out which butts need to be kissed because the only protection one can have is from the powers in charge. The law is dead.....for white people too this time....or maybe 'especially for white people'.

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 14:14 | 6234440 Solio
Solio's picture

How is whatever is wanted for inspection not available on the nsa servers?

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 14:37 | 6234522 F0ster
F0ster's picture

We should start treating these evil treasonous fuckers the Norh Korean way. Firing squad!

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 14:40 | 6234543 logos5
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Transparent = in your face corruption

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