Magistrate urges courts to force White House to preserve messages

A United States magistrate rejected arguments by the Bush administration and urged a federal judge to order the White House to preserve copies of all its e-mail messages. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola said it was necessary to hold out the threat of a contempt of court citation to ensure that White House personnel safeguard backup tapes of electronic messages that may have been deleted. Whether to issue the order is up to Judge Henry Kennedy of Federal District Court. The administration has 10 days to say why Judge Kennedy should not order preservation of electronic communications by White House officials and aides. Judge Kennedy had referred the issue to the magistrate for a recommendation.