FederalComputerWeek is reporting that a federal judge has ordered the White House to search the computers of people who worked there from 2003-2005 for millions of missing emails from that period. Here’s an excerpt:

 

Judge Henry Kennedy of United States District Court for the District of Columbia also ordered officials of that office to collect and preserve any e-mail messages that were sent or received during that period. EOP officials are also to collect from the office’s employees any electronic media that may contain e-mail messages from that time and preserve them.

The order comes just days before the inauguration, when presidential documents are to be handed over to the National Archives for safekeeping to comply with the Presidential Records Act.

Two separate organizations are suing the White House alleging they violated the Federal Records Act (FRA) by not properly archiving emails. The groups allege that many of the missing emails may contain information about the Iraq war, FEMA’s response to Hurricane Katrina, and the Valerie Plame leak investigation. A White House spokeswoman says they will comply with the order.