# I didn't know Presidents didn't use email

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 16, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959 "2008-11-16T04:21:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/41 "2009-01-10T01:57:30Z")

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> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> So, he can’t send letters either?:dubious:

I don’t think the issue is public records. Certainly that is a problem, but the real issue is that anything he writes can be subpoenaed. A private letter certainly can be.  
Given the attack nature of politics, he has to assume someone is going to court tomorrow to try to find some dirt.

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**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/42 "2009-01-10T06:22:41Z")

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I read an article on this that mentioned that Bush had been in the habit of regularly emailing his daughters – as president he gave it up because he did not want those communications to ever end up in the public domain. Sad, but as noted, this is the world we have made.

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/43 "2009-01-10T20:04:54Z")

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I could have _sworn_ that Bill Clinton and Chelsea e-mailed each other while she was at Stanford; ISTR hearing about this on NBC news or something. The newscast was trying to present Clinton as having to go through the same things that other fathers go through when their daughters go to college.

Seriously, are father-daughter exchanges subject to FOIA?

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/44 "2009-01-10T20:29:11Z")

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> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> I could have _sworn_ that Bill Clinton and Chelsea e-mailed each other while she was at Stanford; ISTR hearing about this on NBC news or something. The newscast was trying to present Clinton as having to go through the same things that other fathers go through when their daughters go to college.
> 
> Seriously, are father-daughter exchanges subject to FOIA?

If he used a government computer and/or an official government account, then it could be. Potentially, it could be if it went through government owned servers and routers. There _are_, however, plenty of delaying tactics which could be used (and _have_ been used by many Presidents) to slow or prevent the release of such materials.

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