"If you see oppression of the poor and deprivation of justice and righteousness in the state, wonder not about the matter, for the Highest over the high watches, and there are higher ones over them." -- Ecclesiastes 5:7

Dan Froomkin at the Washington Post brings down a bombshell today that many of us may not have been aware of.

In accordance with the Presidential Records Act, White House email correspondence must be preserved forever. Never deleted, and never tampered with after sent or received in order to ensure accuracy and transparency of records.

But this is not your average administration, and after the wiretapping, secret jails and deportations, and general political opacity we've been subjected to under this regime, this should just come as no surprise:

Countless e-mails to and from many key White House staffers have been deleted -- lost to history and placed out of reach of congressional subpoenas -- due to a brazen violation of internal White House policy that was allowed to continue for more than six years, the White House acknowledged yesterday.

The leading culprit appears to be President Bush's enormously influential political adviser Karl Rove, who reportedly used his Republican National Committee-provided Blackberry and e-mail accounts for most of his electronic communication.

The White House yesterday said it has no idea how many e-mails have been lost.

In an afternoon conference call with reporters, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel spread the blame all around. "White House policy did not give clear enough guidance," he said..."I guess the bottom line is that our policy at the White House was not clear enough for employees."

But when I asked Stanzel to read out loud the White House e-mail policy, it seemed clear enough to me: "Federal law requires the preservation of electronic communications sent or received by White House staff," says the handbook that all staffers are given and expected to read and comply with.

Another oppression of justice in the State.