Romney insists he broke no laws because his aides saved hard-paper copies

The Gay Secretary

Did the erased emails divulge Romney’s previous support for an individual mandate in health care coverage? Did loyal aides purge evidence that Romney once supported LGBT equality and reproductive health care for women? Did they hope to wipe away embarrassing personal tidbits, such as the time Romney tied the family dog to the top of the car for drive to Canada?

Or could it be that the leading Republican candidate for president just has a Nixonian- penchant for secrecy and cover-ups?

Romney insists he broke no laws because his aides saved hard-paper copies – some 700 boxes worth -- of the expunged emails. Good luck searching those! Still, it’s troubling that a guy who wants to be president thinks it’s okay to have his chief of staff and legal counsel purchase government property with the intent to destroy it and thus deprive the public, historians, and future government officials of legitimate access to the digital record of official state business.

Erasure-gate isn’t the first time Romney as shown a penchant for secrecy in government. In 2003, then-newly-elected Governor Romney’s administration issued an order forbidding executive branch employees from have any contact or even talking to members of the legislative branch or the media unless they had prior approval to do so.