Apparently, things started to get interesting when the outgoing Bush I people were facing the prospect of an incoming Clinton team. On the eve of President Clinton's inauguration, once again on a January 19th evening, this time in 1993, staffers in the outgoing Bush I administration got their busy on.

According to the National Security Archive, a group of National Archives & Records Administration employees rented vans, drove them to the Old Executive Office Building, assembled hand-written inventories, and loaded 4,852 computer tapes into boxes, and then into the vans, with the backup tapes destined for the Bush Presidential Library in Texas.

While this was going on, Bush I was doing a deal with the Archivist of the United States, Don (not "The Dragon") Wilson. Just hours before Bill Clinton was to be sworn in, the agreement gave Bush I control over all the backup tapes, completely bypassing The Presidential Records Act.

Wilson was already in trouble with Judge Richey for "abdicating his duties as Archivist" for giving permission for the destruction of the Reagan-era email records. From Judge Richey's perspective, this last minute Bush/Wilson deal to bypass the Presidential Records Act was the icing on the cake. Threatened with an in-depth investigation, Wilson resigned.

So, where did the discredited former Archivist of the United States wind up after attempting to destroy both the Reagan presidential email records and the Bush presidential email records? Three weeks after the midnight ride of the email vans, Don W. Wilson accepted a gig as executive director of the Bush Presidential Library Center.

Flashback: Clinton administration (1993-2001)
Just in case you think the White House email controversy is limited to Republicans and our articles represent a witch hunt by a liberal-leaning media, let me set you straight. The Democratic Clinton administration committed its own series of no-nos when it came to email.

In fact, when it comes to hiding email from the public, the Clinton administration is the clear spiritual successor to the previous Republican administrations.

You might think Clinton officials would want the Reagan and Bush I email records to see the light of day, but not so much. Instead, in early 1993, Clinton officials appeared at the U.S Court of Appeals supporting not only the Reagan and Bush I arguments for destroying email records, but also in support of the agreement between Bush I and archivist Wilson.

Even their reasoning was the same: political paranoia. Clinton administration Senior Advisor on Policy and Strategy George Stephanopoulos is quoted in the May 18, 1993 issue of The Washington Post as saying "Like Bush's White House, the Clinton White House does not want a succceeding, potentially unfriendly administration pawing through its computer memos".

In August 1993, the U.S Court of Appeals ruled against the Clinton White House, stating that White House email qualified as records and should be treated as such under the law.