Posted on 07/11/2014 1:34:31 PM PDT by Second Amendment First
A federal judge signaled on Friday that he would force IRS officials to say under oath what happened to former agency official Lois Lerners crashed hard drive.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he also wanted the government to outline the qualifications of investigators looking into what happened to emails missing because of the hard drive crash. Walton revealed his intentions during a hearing about a lawsuit that a conservative group, True the Vote, filed against the IRS.
True the Vote, which applied for and eventually received tax-exempt status, has accused the IRS of targeting it for its conservative beliefs. The IRS has acknowledged improperly scrutinizing Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status.
The Treasury Departments inspector general for tax administration is currently investigating Lerners missing emails from 2009 to the middle of 2011, when her hard drive crashed.
In addition to the qualifications of the inspector generals investigators, Walton said he wanted a firmer timeline for when that inquiry might be completed.
At a hearing Friday, Walton warned government lawyers that he wanted a quick turnaround on that information, saying he would likely require it by the end of next week.
Walton said he expected to officially make his order by the end of Friday, but also suggested that he was willing to defer at least somewhat to the inspector generals investigation and to the multiple congressional inquiries into the IRS.
I am one of the judges that believes the judicial branch has a limited role in these sorts of cases, Walton said.
Waltons expected ruling would mark the second time in as many days that a federal judge required the government to file a report under oath about Lerners missing emails.
Judge Emmet Sullivan, also of the U.S. District Court in Washington, ruled Thursday that the IRS had to explain under oath how some of Lerners emails went missing.
Lerner, who headed an IRS division overseeing exempt groups, has become the central figure in the investigations over the agencys treatment of Tea Party groups.
The IRS said four weeks ago that it couldnt recover all of Lerners emails, which has reignited interest in investigating the Tea Party controversy. The agency told lawmakers that backup tapes for emails were recycled semiannually in 2011, and that staffers could only keep a limited number of emails in their inbox.
John Koskinen, the IRS commissioner, has said that the agency was able to reproduce 24,000 of Lerners emails from that time span, using the accounts of other IRS officials. Cleta Mitchell, an attorney for True the Vote, cast the judges decision as a step in the right direction, saying it would allow the group to hear from someone with firsthand knowledge about Lerners hard drive.
Koskinen, who took over as commissioner last December, has testified in Congress that the hard drive has been recycled and destroyed. The commissioner also told lawmakers last week that he expected the inspector generals investigation into Lerners emails to be completed in a matter of weeks.
True the Vote has said it wants an independent forensic investigator to examine the hard drive.
Hes not just taking everything the government said at face value, Mitchell said about Walton after the nearly two-hour hearing. Hes going to give us a little bit of help.
Joseph Sergi, a Justice Department official representing the IRS in Fridays hearing, maintained that the agency didnt have to tell True the Vote about the hard drive crash because it happened two years before the groups lawsuit.
Sergi also insisted that there was no evidence that any of Lerners emails were missing, even though Koskinen has said that some havent been found.
Mitchell argued in Fridays hearing that the IRS should have preserved evidence for True the Votes case when Lerners hard drive crashed because of a separate lawsuit.
Z Street, a pro-Israel group, sued the IRS in 2010 over its tax-exempt status, and Mitchell said that her organizations lawsuit was related because both groups had taken political positions contrary to the Obama administration.
But Walton had little sympathy for that argument, suggesting that was expecting too much from the government.
I think its kind of a stretch, he said.
Next, I expect the IRS to throw itself on the mercy of the court and admit they’ve lied and stonewalled, and finally admit the truth: there is no hard drive, because Lois Lerner never used email.
(I didn’t say it was TRUE, but it’s about what I EXPECT from these idiots)
its about what I EXPECT from these idiots
**********
Unfortunately they’re not idiots. Look at what they’ve gotten away with so far. I seriously doubt anyone will be held accountable after all is said and done. Its all a bunch of meaningless political theater IMO.
Koskinen is a self righteous government hack. He is typical of those that have sucked on the bureaucratic tit for years. Holder also comes to mind along with some of the brass that are Obama suck ups.
I’m pretty sure Reggie Walton is the judge that presided over the Scooter Libby trial.
If the IRS were coming after you and you were found to have destroyed evidence what do you think would happen?
-——Joseph Sergi, a Justice Department official representing the IRS in Fridays hearing, maintained that the agency didnt have to tell True the Vote about the hard drive crash because it happened two years before the groups lawsuit.-——
I’m not a judge, but I’d threaten him with contempt of court for making such a asinine ascertain.....
Maybe we could try that.
Sure we tossed the evidence but that was before we were arrested, so it shouldn’t count
-——Maybe we could try that.
Sure we tossed the evidence but that was before we were arrested, so it shouldnt count-——
Exactly....
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