"WASHINGTON — The White House has acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages _ including those pertaining to the CIA leak case _ have been taped over and are gone forever.
The disclosure came minutes before midnight Tuesday under a court-ordered deadline that forced the White House to reveal information it has previously refused to provide.
Among the e-mails that could be lost are messages swapped by any White House officials involved in discussions about leaking the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame."
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