For an entity that is so hell-bent on keeping secrets, the U.S. government seems to keep making email gaffes. Friday, the House Judiciary Committee sent the email addresses of would-be whistleblowers to everyone who had written in to the committee's Justice Department web tip line, according to the TPM Muckracker blog. There are more than 150 recipient addresses revealed in the email.
All of the addresses were included in the "to:" field -- instead of concealing those addresses with a so-called blind carbon copy or "bcc:". A substantial number of the addresses included portions of individuals' real names. Also included in the list was the public e-mail address of Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as some apparently fictitious individuals, according to a statement released yesterday by the Judiciary Committee and reported in Computerworld.
Compounding the mistake, the committee later sent out a second email attempting to recall the original email. It also contained all recipients in the "to:" field, according to a recipient of the emails, according to TPM Muckraker. So, if you missed it the first time, you surely got a chance to look it over the second time.
I sure hope that the government can get its act together. With everything that is happening in Washington, a confidential tip line is really important. These blunders can only cause people to lose confidence in their ability to be protected.
Ironically, the purpose of the email was to announce careful new procedures for reviewing tips. Here is the content of the email (courtesy of TPM Muckracker):
Subject: Important notice re House Judiciary Committee tip line, e-mails
You are among the people who have submitted e-mails to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on its Web site tip line for Department of Justice employees to report allegations or concerns regarding possible wrongdoing involving the Department. This message is to inform you that the Committee is now ending the tip line and has voted to approve procedures governing the confidentiality of the e-mails received.
Under these procedures, only Members of the Judiciary Committee, and Committee staff specifically designated by the Democratic Chairman or Ranking Republican Member, will have access to the e-mails, and they are prohibited from removing any e-mail from Committee offices. Any broader disclosure of any e-mail would first require a vote of the Committee to authorize it. It would be the Committee¹s intent to consult with the sender of any e-mail before any such vote takes place.
This message is also to advise you that you have three business days until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30 to notify us if you wish to withdraw your e-mail rather than have it reviewed by the Committee under these procedures. If you so notify us, your e-mail, along with any records pertaining to its submission, will be destroyed. If you do not so notify us, we will conclude that you have agreed to submit your e-mail to the Committee under these procedures.
Any request that an e-mail be withdrawn should state in the subject space "PLEASE WITHDRAW E-MAIL," and should include in the body of the request the e-mail address under which your e-mail was submitted, if different than the one used to make the request to withdraw. It should also specify the date and time, if known, or the approximate date and time, that the e-mail was submitted.
Thank you for your interest in the Judiciary Committee¹s work.
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