Click here for the original report. Below is Horner’s reply.
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They didn’t shoot it down. That’s The Hill spinning that EPA denied it.
We do know that [EPA regional administrator James Martin] only searched his “to” and “from” files ON THE iCLOUD, when he likely (like many/it anecdotally seems most Mac users) manages his mail on his local machine, was an enormous red flag. The iCloud deletes emails he deleted. That he didn’t produce any sent emails, except when caught up in threads of received emails, combines with that to create a foul odor about hte search itself, which EPA cannot fail to know. In short, therefore, he did not search any emails that he had previously deleted. Which screams from the production and they did not address, avoiding mentioning he searched “deleted”, stating, by omission, that he did not.
The fact that the meeting occurred at EPA is evidence that he was conducting official business on his personal email account.
Again, it is clear from the two productions (epa.gov and me.com) that the GC of the EDF interchangeably used his personal and official accounts to keep him updated on their lobbying efforts and other news related to his responsibilities at EPA.
In addition there is the email where he asked EDF’s GC for another government contact and the government contact is…@gmail.com. That’s how EDF communicates with “their guys in [whatever] administration”.
Clearly the implication of one isolated incident is belied by the pattern of behavior both on Martin’s part and within the agency, and indeed the administration.
About that invented standard: all documents that relate to his work are subject to FOIA. It is not above and beyond his responsibility to search his private account if the account contains work emails. To fail to do so would be an easy way to get around FOIA transparency requirements.
And of course EPA’s clear policy prohibits the use of personal accounts – precisely b/c of the FOIA obligations. Therefore his use of his personal account not only violates clearly stated EPA policy, it could be a mechanism to evade transparency. Like so many others I’ve revealed. Surely with more to come, none without a fight.