White House said it recycled backup e-mails

In court filings on Tuesday evening, the White House acknowledged a past practice of recycling computer back-up tapes containing its e-mail records. The practice, which lasted until October 2003, may mean that many e-mail messages from the president’s first years in office are gone for good.

Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola gave the White House five business days to reveal whether copies of sought-after e-mail messages from 2003 and 2005 were contained on computer backup tapes.