Elena Kagan

Rummaging Through Elena Kagan's Email

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Want the thrill of hacking into a White House attorney’s inbox without the risk of getting into serious legal trouble?

The Sunlight Foundation has a nifty tool for you. It’s come up with a creative way to make some of the bajillion Elena Kagan-related documents being released by the Clinton Presidential Library searchable.

It’s taken her emails, from her time as associate WH counsel (1995 – 1996) and as assistant to the president and deputy director for domestic policy (1997 – 1999), and dumped them into an Outlook-style inbox.

We’ll be liveblogging Kagan’s confirmation hearings next week, when we’ll likely hear a lot of evasive answers about her time in the White House. We rummaged through the ekagan@whitehouse.gov inbox hoping for more candid information about her time there. We found some fun emails, and maybe even a little romance…

The sample searches — including “making the President look like a liar” — didn’t really interest us. We came up with our own search terms, starting with “f*&%.” There was just one hit on that. Kagan forwarded a news article about a sentencing panel decision on the disparity between punishments for possession of crack and cocaine. Kagan wrote:

6:36 PM 29 Apr 1997
to: Bruce N. Reed

this is excellent. too bad it’s going to get fucked up in all later stories.

Sponsored

We looked up another vulgar word: damn. Even future Supreme Court nominees slack on their duties sometimes:

Re: Abortion Memo
7:45 AM 07 Jul 1997
to: Tracey E. Thornton

damned if i remember what i was supposed to be writing about. could you send me your (and Robin’s) stuff first and then I’ll add to it?

We also wanted to check out Kagan’s softer side. We searched for “love.” It looks like two men in the White House may have been vying for Kagan’s affections. Here is a series of emails she exchanged with then-Al Gore assistant Ron Klain (perhaps better known as Kevin Spacey in Recount).

An email from 1995 revealing plans to spend New Year’s Eve together (Sunday, Dec. 31) made us wonder:

subject: advice
9:51 AM 29 Dec 1995
to: Ron Klain

If you have a bit of time today, give me a call; I’d like to ask for your advice on something. If you don’t have much time today, it can most definitely wait until Sunday night.

Sponsored

Klain would be a catch after all: a fellow HLS grad, Jewish, and a member of the Elect (OT 1987 / White).

Nothing steamy appeared again until 1997, though, when we suspect Kagan employed “large ammo clips” as innuendo:

subject: couple of things
11:40 AM 13 Mar 1997
to: Ron Klain

I know you must be catching up on a load of things, but could you give me a call back re (1) liquor advertising and (2) large capacity ammo clips.

Weekend plans together in 1997?

Re: Weekend
3:28 PM 26 Aug 1997
to: Ron Klain

In fact, yes. I’d love to.

Mixing business and pleasure in an email in 1998?

Re: Two Things
3:50 PM 27 Mar 1998
to: Ron Klain

1. I don’t think we’re “signing off” on anything. But $1.10 is from our
budget. and it’s awfully hard to complain too loudly about your own budget
figures.

2. Love to.

But maybe Kagan was two-timing Klain with an on-again, off-again dalliance with Todd Stern, who was also an assistant to Bill Clinton. They made dinner plans in mid-August 1995:

subject: dinner
1:57 PM 23 Aug 1995
to: Todd Stern

when and where?

It sounds like a mild lover’s quarrel a week later:

RE: students
4:17 PM 30 Aug 1995
to: Todd Stern

I’ve talked to one who said she wasn’t interested. I’ve been playing telephone tag with the other. I’ll keep at it.

By the by, I did return your call. (It sounds as if you didn’t get my message.)

See you tomorrow.

A year later, things may have been back on with a meal together at a ritzy organic restaurant:

RE: fyi
7:38 PM 30 Apr 1996
to: Todd Stern

great. where is asia nora?

Kagan grew cold with the now-climate change expert in October:

subject: sorry
1:49 PM 17 Oct 1995
to: Todd Stern

I’ve eaten. And I have a 2:00 meeting. I’ll be back in my office around 4:00.

On again? In 1999, they made plans for a Friday night dinner:

re:dinner
9:45 AM 05 Mar 1999
to: Todd Stern

great
—-Forwarded by Elena Kagan/OPD/EOP on 03/05/99 09:47 AM —-

Todd Stern
03/05/99 09:17:55 AM
Record Type: Record

To: Elena Kagan/OPD/EOP
Subject: dinner

Tonight is good. 7:30 or so would be fine. See you later. tds

Initials to sign off? Very intimate.

So what turns Elena Kagan on? We searched for “unbelievable” to find that out:

subject: thanks
6:36 PM 20 Dec 1995
to: Jack M. Quinn

Just wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to do that securities work. It was an unbelievable thrill.

Securities: So. Hot.

Elena’s Inbox [The Sunlight Foundation]

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