WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Committee is submitting a request for public records relating to emails sent during former Governor Mitt Romney’s administration, trying to put the former Massachusetts governor on the defensive.
“Americans deserve to know whether the Romney administration deliberately sought to delete public records in anticipation of requests regarding Governor Romney’s record on a range of issues – from abortion to health care – and how he reached policy decisions when in office,” the DNC said in a statement.
Romney’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The public information request follows a Globe report this morning that 11 of Romney’s aides purchased their state-issued hard drives and wiped e-mails from the server at the end of Romney’s term in 2006.
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The DNC is requesting any electronic communication during Romney’s term from officials who had purchased a computer hard drive from the state. They also ask for any forms submitted by Romney’s gubernatorial office asking for permission to destroy or remove documents.
They also ask for emails containing words that seem designed to embarrass Romney, including phrases such as “delete emails,” “flip-flop,” “change position,” “raise taxes and fees,” “move to the right,” and “ranked 47th in job creation.”
The request comes several hours after Romney’s campaign manager submitted a public records request of his own, asking for all correspondence between Governor Deval Patrick’s administration and several of President Obama’s top political aides.
“It is evident that your office has become an opposition research arm of the Obama reelection campaign,” Matt Rhoades, Romney’s campaign manager, wrote in a letter to Patrick’s office.
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.