A fascinating area for exploration is the drafts that led to the final version. The dates, the wording, the recipients. Why do people keep drafts? Just because?
“Comey Originally Tougher On Clinton, The Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2017 A5. A Republican Senator discloses that Comey’s early draft of the exoneration document used the language “grossly negligent,” the statutory test.
I’ve referred to July 5, 2016 as the Day that Information Governance Died. That’s when the Director of the FBI announced his decision not to prosecute someone who had routinely violated the rules on handling secret documents, because “no reasonable prosecutor would bring charges.” Not to get into the politics of things, but how can you argue that following the rules is required when the Secretary of State isn’t held to the standards that apply to a Navy seaman?
That being said, why do people hold on to drafts? Because it’s easy? Or because it’s hard to get rid of them? There is seldom a reason to retain them beyond when the document is final. Maybe a phrase or a paragraph. But the entire document? How can we convince people not to keep drafts?
infogovnuggets 