Missing Or Destroyed Documents

Did you ever notice that documents are always going missing when they are needed? This happens not only on every level of government, but also in the private sector. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for them, the electronic age has left a lot of clues and sometimes even evidence can be gathered when it was thought that none existed anymore. One example of this is email. You never know who will be keeping a copy of email that was sent. I am not talking about the person or company that it was addressed to, rather the company where it originated, or different sites along the route. I think that if I were asked what was one of the least private ways to communicate, I would have to say that email is near the top.

The Little Black Book That Always Goes Missing
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I could not even guess how many appointment books have disappeared in cases that involved madams and prostitutes of the upper echelon. The reason for this is very clear, powerful clients do not want to be embarrassed so the document are made to simply vanish. I personally saw this happen on two very large cases that I knew about. The rumor was that some of our fine upstanding lawmakers were on the client list along with some judges. Evidence and documents disappearing is as old as time itself. Evidence has been disappearing from the hands of police as long as there have been police forces. Sometimes the items that disappear are as simple as tests. You might ask who would want to steal tests, but that would be an easy question to answer. The answer is they were probably stolen by someone wanting to take the test and get a leg up on the answers, as they say.

Whenever there is a chance of embarrassment, or the chance of someone being caught in a serious lie, there is always the chance of evidence disappearing, no matter how valuable it is. Some say this is exactly what happened to the Apollo tapes that are nowhere to be found. UFO believers think that the tapes, if they were around, would be able to be enhanced to show that there were ruins on the moon. Other say that we never landed on the moon and the tapes could be enhanced to prove that. While this subject is very important to many people, because most of us would like to know the truth about what is on the moon, if anything, there are far worse items that have disappeared.

Documents
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In March 2009 a story ran which stated that the CIA had destroyed 92 interrogation tapes. The article goes on to say when this happened, they had not even acknowledged that they had this many. Why would a government agency destroy interrogation tapes that might have been able to be used against detainees in a trial unless they showed illegal methods being used to obtain this information. It certainly seems that if these tapes existed than they were far more devastating to the agency than helpful, or else they would not have been destroyed in the first place. The House played along and criticized the CIA for this action and that was the end of it. In case you think these tapes were accidentally destroyed, there is a long history of evidence being destroyed.

In 2003 a famous accounting firm, which had been accused of destroying and altering documents, paid the Securities and Exchange Commission one million dollars to settle the case. Clearly they would not have done that if they hadn't been caught. The company knowingly broke accounting rules so that a client could get approved for bankruptcy protection. This accounting firm was the largest in the United States at the time and they were charged with improper professional conduct. The firm paid but did not admit its guilt.

Top Secret Documents
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In 1995 a Federal Aviation Administration Official stated that official documents were sought in connection with a fatal plane crash. A New York Times story stated that not only were some documents withheld, but some were destroyed by the F.A.A. Why would this happen? The NY Times story stated that this was done to conceal the fact that a Senator was intervening into the investigation on behalf of a friend. These were only accusations, but very embarrassing as the second in command at the F.A.A. at the time was the Senator's wife.

There have been cases where some state agencies have destroyed or altered documents to make it seem that they were in compliance with certain laws, when they were not. How many times have we heard an official say that he or she regrets that they can not comply with a subpoena or court order because the material requested can not be found?

Even President Bush Jr. had documents missing from his military file, according to a reporter from the AP. Here is what the reporter said was missing:
1. A report from the Texas Air National Guard to Bush's local draft board certifying that Bush remained in good standing.
2. Records of a required investigation into why Bush lost flight status.
3. A written acknowledgment from Bush that he had received the orders grounding him.
4. Reports of formal counseling sessions Bush was required to have after missing more than three training sessions.
5. A signed statement from Bush acknowledging he could be called to active duty if he did not promptly transfer to another guard unit after leaving Texas.

Losing and destroying documents is not only happening in the U.S., it is rampant all over the world. There is a case that is ongoing right now in Canada, where it is alleged that after defense lawyers in a case requested emails from the government, the emails were then destroyed. While it is quite obvious that this was a political matter, it certainly does not make it right, or moral. People are going too far nowadays just to see their political parties get a leg up.

Will this nonsense of lost evidence and documents ever stop? Not until people that were in charge of this stuff are punished, or can show that there was evidence that someone else is responsible.