U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works Chairman Robert Roe (D-NJ) gesturing while stating that there are ten places throughout the country which hold sensitive documents that number in the hundreds of thousands of pages, and he wants to know who determines whether the documents are sensitive in nature or not, whether the public can see view those documents or not. Chairman Roe: "Do the consultants help on that?"; House Rep. Norman Mineta (D-CA) seated next to him. Adult male, off camera, answers: "The consultants do not." Roe: "Do the consultants have any access to these documents? Is there any documents in there that the consultants would have access to?" EPA Interim Assistant Administrator Michael Brown answers that the consultants create the documents; adult Caucasian, predominantly males, seated in BG. Chairman Roe says that is precisely the point he is trying to make, because Congress is told they don't have the ability to view those documents, but Congress can hire engineers and other experts who would have access to those documents, and may have had a hand in creating those documents. Chairman Roe wonders if that is reasonable or if that's being unfair.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
EPA Staff Chief John E. Daniel and Chairman on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works, Robert Roe (D-NJ), having a discussion regarding access to documents being shared with Congress, and providing a list of the consultants who are acting as the expertise to the EPA. Rep. Roe then asks who, specifically, in the department would determine whether a document would be shredded or not, or if everybody has a say; House Rep. Norman Mineta (D-CA) seated next to him. Daniel replies that, except for documents specifically marked for safekeeping by the EPA, employees generally determine what documents are kept at their desk. Rep. Roe confirms that unless instructed otherwise, employees can decide what documents to keep or destroy. Roe wonders if the committee has a right to be puzzled, saying "if we have not been able to identify what we consider to be enforcement sensitive, because we have such volumes to work with, yet as we're going through that process, documents are being shredded." Daniel notes that the documents the committee has asked for have not been shredded; EPA officials Eugene Lucero and Michael Brown seated next to him.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works Chairman Robert Roe (D-NJ) questions EPA staff chief John E. Daniel, seated with his colleagues Eugene Lucero and Michael A. Brown at hearing; they discuss the subject of document preservation, access, and destruction; House Rep. Norman Mineta (D-CA) seated next to Rep. Roe. Daniel states that all documents the committee has requested have been provided and Rep. Roe argues that is not the point, and that the enforcement documents have not all been identified. Roe acknowledges that any subpoenaed documents are available, supposedly, but all enforcement documents have not been identified, because this is still an on-going process.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
EPA staff chief John Daniel refers to his colleague, Eugene Lucero to answer U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works Chairman Robert Roe's (D-NJ) questions on law enforcement sensitive documents during hearing; Rep. Norman Mineta (D-CA) seated next to Rep. Roe. Lucero points out that there were a series of approximately 700,000 documents that were "possibly available to the committee"; EPA Assistant Administrator Michael A. Brown seated next to Lucero. He states they tentatively screened documents in his office that might be considered sensitive and in dispute, and those documents were put aside. Rep. Roe, off camera, asks for a specific number, but Lucero can only say he has two file cabinets worth, and no specific page count. Rep. Roe asks, off camera, if the agency official is suggesting all of the law enforcement sensitive documents are in those file cabinets. Lucero states those are the only ones in his office. Rep. Roe asks if there are other documents, which prompts Lucero to state that other parts of the agency may have more documents, which proves a point to Rep. Roe; that even he does not know the exact number of documents that exist.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works Chairman Robert Roe (D-NJ) states that he's not trying to pin anyone down; Rep. Norman Mineta (D-CA) seated next to him. Chairman Roe simply wants to establish the fact that neither the committee nor the EPA has been able to break the logjam and determine the specific number or availability of law enforcement sensitive documents. EPA official Eugene Lucero continues stating that the sensitive documents have been put aside, and are accessible; EPA staff chief Michael A. Brown seated next to him and adult, predominantly Caucasian men seated in BG. Rep. Roe once again states that Lucero is missing the point. He lists four points that have been testified to by the EPA repeatedly: there are ten areas where documents are involved, "security situations", there are still reviews on potential law enforcement sensitive documents. Lucero ones again repeats his statement on the sensitive documents being kept in his office. Rep. Elliot Levitas (D-GA) asks Rep. Roe to yield.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
Continued testimony at U.S. House Subcommittee hearing; U.S. House Representative Elliot Levitas (D-GA) states that the subcommittee was refused access to any of the EPA files, because they may contain law enforcement sensitive materials, and could not be accessed until the EPA or Justice Department vetted them. Rep. Levitas second point: "administration, through its attorneys, made representations through the U.S. District Court here in Washington about the number of law enforcement sensitive files. And now it appears, in answer to Mr. Roe's questions, to Mr. Molinari's questions, there seems to be some question about the number." Rep. Levitas just wants to make that a matter of record and yields back; Reps. Norman Mineta (D-CA) and Chairman Robert A. Roe (D-NJ) seated next to Rep. Levitas and adult Caucasian men seated in BG. EPA Assistant Administrator Michael A. Brown respond to the first point by stating that he and his colleagues do not share the views of previous testimony regarding file access and provides his version of events regarding access to documentation, leaving open the possibility of miscommunication. Adult Caucasian and African American males and females in BG.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works hearing in progress; Chairman Robert Roe (D-NJ) asks for clarification: "When people talk of records, many times they think of written documents... Is there a series of computerized data and facts that are in your centralized computer bank?" Rep. Norman Mineta (D-CA) seated next to Rep. Roe. EPA Assistant Administrator, Michael A. Brown, is aware of information being stored upon floppy disks, but he is not aware of anything stored in central data processing, and turns it over to his colleague, Eugene Lucero, who may be able to better answer that question. Lucero states that no enforcement data is maintained in the data processing banks. There is statistical data held there and future storage of such data will be possible; adult Caucasian and African American males and females seated in BG.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works Chairman Robert Roe (D-NJ), off camera, asks the EPA Assistant Administrator Michael A. Brown, agency official Eugene Lucero, agency general counsel Robert M. Perry, EPA Staff Chief John Daniel, EPA official, Mr. Steele if they have any personal knowledge of use of the shredders within the EPA. All, except for Lucero, reply in the negative or nothing beyond what has already been testified to. Lucero states he has already testified to his knowledge and use of shredders; adult, predominantly Caucasian, men and women seated in BG. Rep. Roe, off camera, yields to Rep. Ronald Packard (R-CA). Rep. Packard comments on the negative implications towards shredders despite their commonplace use in many offices on Capitol Hill.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works hearing in progress; Representative Ronald Packard (R-CA) asks EPA Staff Chief John Daniel if there is any evidence in his office that enforcement sensitive documents are missing or have been destroyed. Daniel replies there is no such evidence. Rep. Packard asks if Daniel's employees are aware of any evidence of the same nature. Daniel clarifies that the employees are under the direction EPA official Eugene Lucero, seated next to him, and he has not spoken to all 10,000 employees. Packard wants to confirm that Daniel is unaware of any paper shredders being at the EPA before January 6th. Daniel clarifies that Shredders in the Offices of Emergency and Remedial Response and Waste Program Enforcement arrived on January 6th, but other shredders have been around longer. Daniel confirms that those January 6th shredders were removed on February 10th and those shredders weren't used to destroy enforcement sensitive documents or anything subpoenaed by the committee. Packard asks if regional offices were given the same instructions on handing enforcement sensitive documents as implemented in the main office; Daniel affirms that.
U.S. House Subcommittee : Shreddergate Part 2
U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Public Works hearing in progress; Representative Ronald Packard (R-CA) asks EPA legal counsel Robert M. Perry if the President had not sent his memorandum exercising executive privilege, would he have withheld documents from the committee? Perry states that they would not have withheld. The President's memo is the only basis for withholding documents from the committee.