Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : White House Records Ordered Preserved

A federal judge has ordered the archivist of the United States to act immediately to assure that records on White House computers are not destroyed before President Bush leaves office. U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Richey directed the White House and the archivist to preserve backup computer tapes of electronic mail messages generated by officials of the National Security Council and the Executive Office of the President during the Bush and Ronald Reagan administrations. Richey said current White House guidelines are “inadequate, arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law in that they permit the destruction of records contrary to the Federal Records Act.”