Archivist Troubled by Records Policy

David Ferriero, the nation’s archivist, said Tuesday that he was uncomfortable with letting White House staff members decide whether their electronic messages from personal accounts were work-related and must be saved. Mr. Ferriero told a House hearing that official communications sent from a presidential employee’s personal device, using personal accounts, must be preserved under the law, but that a staff member gets to determine what is official. Asked whether he was comfortable with a voluntary system, he replied, “Any time there is human intervention, then I’m not comfortable.”