If my computer fails, I can go to any computer, anywhere or a smart phone and access my email account.
That may be true for you, but it is not necessarily the case for everyone. It depends upon the email client you use and its configuration.
I use several different email clients, some of which are web-based and some of which use POP or IMAP configurations. The POP client, through my choice, is set-up so that the mail is DOWNLOADED to the local machine on which the client is run, and DELETED from the server. This means that I cannot go to any computer, anywhere or a smart phone and read the messages that have already been downloaded & deleted.
In most cases, I can access my email account from another computer or smart-phone via a browser-based email interface, but email previously downloaded and deleted from the server will not be available in the mailbox. No-can-do. Simple as that.
This, of course, doesn't address situations where the client is configured to leave a copy on the server, or the possibility of retrieving messages from a backup tape.
And, of course, it has nothing to do with Lerner and the IRS, which almost certainly was bound-by-law to have backups. It's only meant to illustrate that there are many variables involved, and your situation isn't necessarily pertinent to the way someone else's email handling systems operate.
Well said...