Acidic Email Eraser Could Wipe Out Cities
Trump Warns of BleachBit: The Acid So Strong It Wipes Out Everything Within a 10-Mile Radius
“They call it BleachBit, but it’s essentially acid that will destroy everything, you know, within ten miles.” - Former President Donald Trump on Greg Kelly Reports (3/12/2024)
Acidic Software?
BleachBit isn’t an acid. It’s an open-source software designed for securely deleting files and preventing recovery, gained notoriety for its role in the deletion of emails from Hillary Clinton's private server.
This server was at the center of controversy over Clinton's handling of classified information during her tenure as Secretary of State. The deletion of tens of thousands of emails deemed personal by Clinton's team, after a review to separate them from work-related emails, sparked widespread scrutiny and debate.
The task of deleting these emails was carried out by Paul Combetta1, an IT specialist with Platte River Networks, the firm managing Clinton's server. Combetta's use of BleachBit to make the emails unrecoverable became a significant point of interest in the investigations by the FBI and congressional committees into the email practices.
Notably, Combetta proceeded with the deletion after a congressional subpoena had been issued, demanding the preservation and turnover of all emails related to Clinton's tenure, which raised questions about the intention behind the erasure and whether it amounted to an obstruction of justice.
Despite these concerns, the FBI's investigation, led by then-Director James Comey, concluded there was no clear evidence of intent to violate laws governing classified information by Clinton or her aides. Importantly, the investigation found no evidence that Clinton had directly instructed Combetta to delete the emails.
Combetta was granted immunity by the Department of Justice, a move that underscored the complex legal considerations surrounding the case, preventing him from any charges resulting from the post-subpoena destruction of evidence.
Clinton’s “famous socks case”
On Greg Kelly Reports, Trump also referenced Former President Bill Clinton’s “famous socks case” implying there was nefarious handling of classified data.
Clinton had audio tape recordings stored in his sock drawer at his residence, which were conversations between himself and historian Taylor Branch. These tapes were created as part of a project to document Clinton's presidency in a personal and informal manner, with Clinton intending them to serve as a basis for future historical accounts, notably Branch’s 2009 book, "The Clinton Tapes."
The legal controversy surrounding these tapes emerged when Judicial Watch2, a conservative legal advocacy group, alleged that the tapes should have been considered presidential records rather than personal items. They argued that because the recordings contained discussions about Clinton’s official duties and activities as President, they fell under the domain of materials that should be preserved for public record and thus transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at the end of Clinton’s presidency.
However, the nature of the information on the tapes, as described by Branch and Clinton, was intended to capture personal reflections and observations, not official or state matters that would necessitate classification as presidential records under the Presidential Records Act (PRA).
There was no evidence presented, or even alleged that the tapes held classified information.
The court, led by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, held that the PRA does not grant NARA the authority to compel a former president to turn over materials deemed personal. The act specifically distinguishes between official presidential records and personal records, leaving the determination of such classifications to the discretion of the president. Consequently, the lawsuit demanding the retrieval of the tapes was dismissed.
I wonder, can a simple sock drawer shield private data from the devastating might of BleachBit acid?
^1 Paul Combetta, an IT specialist working for Platte River Networks, was involved in managing Hillary Clinton's private email server. He used BleachBit software to delete emails that were deemed personal by Clinton's team. Combetta was granted immunity by the Department of Justice during the FBI's investigation into the use of Clinton's private email server.
^2 Judicial Watch, Inc. v. National Archives & Records Admin., 845 F. Supp. 2d 288 (D.D.C. 2012). In this case, Judicial Watch contended that audio recordings made by President Bill Clinton, which captured discussions about his official duties, constituted presidential records. They argued these recordings were subject to preservation under the Presidential Records Act and should have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) following Clinton's term in office. The court, however, dismissed the case, indicating that the determination of what constitutes a presidential record lies within the discretion of the President, and NARA did not have authority to seize control of the tapes.