The ‘Missing’ IRS Emails

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It’s a cover-up — obstruction of justice — and everybody knows it, because the subpoenaed e-mails simply cannot be “lost”:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said it can’t provide emails sent between 2009 and 2011 that were requested by congressional investigators because of hard drive crashes.
The agency said that emails stored on dead drives were lost forever because its email backup tapes were recycled every six months, and employees were responsible for keeping their own long-term archives.
The IRS had a contract with email backup service vendor Sonasoft starting in 2005, according to FedSpending.org, which lists the contract as being for “automatic data processing services.” Sonasoft’s motto is “email archiving done right,” and the company lists the IRS as a customer.
In 2009, Sonasoft even sent out a Tweet advertising its work for the IRS.

We therefore know for a fact that the e-mails could not have been accidentally “lost.” We also know for a fact that Lois Lerner’s hard-drive was erased within 10 days of a letter being sent from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp inquiring about the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS. We furthermore know for a fact that Nikole Flax — the former chief of staff to the IRS director, whose e-mails were also supposedly “lost” — visited the White House 35 times after Flax talked to Lerner about targeting conservative groups.

So, here you have a scandal where the smoking guns are just piled up in plain sight for everyone to see, and yet the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Associated Press are all pretending that this is not actually a scandal. It’s as if they’re competing to win a Pulitzer Prize for Best Non-Reporting of an Impeachable Offense.

 

22 comments

  3. So now the IRS needs to be asked when were the emails and hard drives destroyed, since the IRS won’t offer info until asked specific questions.

  6. Something few have pointed out: There’s 2 sides to every e-mail. The IRS might not have the e-mails Lerner sent and received, but whoever was on the other end should.

  7. The latest is that the IRS cancelled the backup contract a few weeks after Lerner’s “crash.”

    It looks as though there wasn’t perjury before Congress. It took a lot of work to make sure those emails were good and lost.

  8. Congress should quit with the kabuki of Koskinen’s testimony. He’s the monkey; go to the organ grinders: the IRS IT department.
    Koskinen can credibly claim ignorance of IT procedures and the current state of affairs, the IT department cannot.

    Let’s see if the techs are willing to stick their necks out for the suits. I’m betting “no.”

  10. There’s a twofold problem – Holder at the department of Jerks and Harry Reid sitting on his throne in the senate. Yes, the House can institute the articles of impeachment, but the DOJ has to get involved and the senate would hold the trial. Remember Clinton?

  12. The House needs to make huge cuts to the Treasury and IRS. They need to make the message loud and clear, you will be responsible to the peoples House and the taxpayers of the country or we will strangle your ass into extinction.

  13. If they were recycling backup tapes every six months they were violating virtually every law and regulation in existence.

    If there were a real Department of Justice they would simply call the IRS and ask the which charges they would like to go to jail for.

    Of course, virtually all of the current DOJ should be up on criminal charges as well right now so this is another case of who watches the watchers…

  14. I’ve been screaming this from my dark, lonely, cell since this (apparent non) story broke, i.e. put the hammer and tongs to the geeks, they will crack the second a congressman floats the idea of a felony conviction.

  15. We would have leverage if we take the Senate. But Reid isn’t going to even allow work on a budget this year, so it’s a CR or a shutdown.

  16. The law provides a mandatory five year sentence for each record not preserved.

    Unfortunately there is also a five year statute of limitations which, in the cases of Lerner, Flax, and the others, will expire shortly before the next President takes the oath.

  17. Yup. These separation of powers has a flaw in the AG office, appointed by the bastard he’s supposed to investigate.

  18. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Emails get bounced around several times before landing in your in-box.

    They exist in a whole LOT o’ different places.

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