WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) today issued the following statement relating to a DOI notification to federal court officials on behalf of Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb. “
Assistant Secretary McCaleb learned this past week that despite his understanding to the contrary, a complete record of his e-mail messages has not been printed and filed. The Assistant Secretary has acknowledged his misunderstanding to Secretary Norton and is cooperating fully in efforts to remedy the oversight. Once Mr. McCaleb identified the problem, it was immediately and fully disclosed to the court.
“Through a separate investigation into the matter, the Department is confident it will be able to retrieve, print and file Assistant Secretary McCaleb’s e-mail messages from its library of computer backup tapes. The federal contractor Zantaz of Pleasanton, California, will process the backup tapes and retrieve the affected e-mails.
“In addition, further efforts are being undertaken to provide renewed training and reinforcement of the detailed e-mail retention, printing and filing policies within the Department. This reported oversight and the Department’s quick response to it will serve as a vivid reminder to all Department of the Interior employees that these recordkeeping requirements are of primary importance.”
