Lois Lerner’s Lost Emails: Questions for the IRS

Sharyl Atkisson ^ | 6-14-14 | Sharyl Atkisson

[FlJoePa]

The news came late in the day on Friday the 13th.

According to the House Ways and Means Committee, the IRS reports having “lost” former IRS manager Lois Lerner’s emails to and from other IRS employees sent between January of 2009 and April of 2011 due to a ‘computer crash.’

In light of the disclosure, these are some of the logical requests that should be made of the IRS:

• Please provide a timeline of the crash and documentation covering when it was first discovered and by whom; when, how and by whom it was learned that materials were lost; the official documentation reporting the crash and federal data loss; documentation reflecting all attempts to recover the materials; and the remediation records documenting the fix. This material should include the names of all officials and technicians involved, as well as all internal communications about the matter.
• Please provide all documents and emails that refer to the crash from the time that it happened through the IRS’ disclosure to Congress Friday that it had occurred.
• Please provide the documents that show the computer crash and lost data were appropriately reported to the required entities including any contractor servicing the IRS. If the incident was not reported, please explain why.
• Please provide a list summarizing what other data was irretrievably lost in the computer crash. If the loss involved any personal data, was the loss disclosed to those impacted? If not, why?
• Please provide documentation reflecting any security analyses done to assess the impact of the crash and lost materials. If such analyses were not performed, why not?
• Please provide documentation showing the steps taken to recover the material, and the names of all technicians who attempted the recovery.
• Please explain why redundancies required for federal systems were either not used or were not effective in restoring the lost materials, and provide documentation showing how this shortfall has been remediated.
• Please provide any documents reflecting an investigation into how the crash resulted in the irretrievable loss of federal data and what factors were found to be responsible for the existence of this situation.
• I would also ask for those who discovered and reported the crash to testify under oath, as well as any officials who reported the materials as having been irretrievably lost.

The Committee had requested the Lerner emails as part of its investigation into to the targeting of conservative non-profits by the IRS. The Obama administration has denied any corruption or intentional wrongdoing. Lerner took the Fifth when asked to testify to Congress. The House of Representatives subsequently held her in contempt. The lost materials are said to include any communications that may have occurred between Lerner and outside agencies or groups such as the White House, the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice, the Federal Elections Commission and the offices of Democrats.

House and Ways Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) says that along with providing news of the emails that have been lost, the IRS suggested in the same letter to Congress that it end its investigation.

The late disclosure of the lost emails may be reason to disregard the suggestion.

[FlJoePa]

Sucks to have actual "journalists" still around - doesn't it dummies.

[A Navy Vet]

Great questions that will never be answered or said to be old news.

[MeshugeMikey]

Take it TO EM!

We eill not lie down

We Will not sit down

we will not shut up!!

[FlingWingFlyer]

Enough is enough. It’s time for the “perp walks” to begin!

[dontreadthis]

“House and Ways Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) says that along with providing news of the emails that have been lost, the IRS suggested in the same letter to Congress that it end its investigation.”

trite but true -> “you can’t make this stuff up”

[matthew fuller]

I’m sorry- I don’t even believe in the possibility of this loss happening. But even if the emails were deliberately deleted, they can be retrieved from NSA.

[Cruz_West_Paul2016]

wait,then what is the purpose of that 42 Million square foot monster (have they built it yet?) that is supposed to store everything we type on the web?

[Kenny]

“House and Ways Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) says that along with providing news of the emails that have been lost, the IRS suggested in the same letter to Congress that it end its investigation.”

Doesn't that sort of intimidation to a sitting Congressman break some law somewhere. Good grief, they can nail us for a late library book but these people can send Tony to sleep with the fishes and no one blinks.

[molson209]

Who ever said all emails were lost has no clue about computers or thinks everyone out there is as stupid as they are

[joyce11111]

I can’t lose my stuff cuz it is all backed up......why is this BS still in committees?

It belongs with a spec prosecuted? Are those lousy committees that solve or prosecute nada just holding on to their chairmanship....they are a bunch of a$$holes!

[Fungi]

Great post, thank you. As long as Bonehead Boehner is Speaker, do you really think anything will be done? I see Dingy Harry “corrupt” Reid has not been heard from for a while. His brainless rants against the Koch brothers have backlashed. Don't hold your breath.

[Viking2002]

Crash, my ass. They’re doing backups of backups in real time. That’s why God created RAID arrays. This has just descended into criminal farce, all of it.

[Graewoulf]

Nope: “Questions for the NSA.”

Whatever the IRS “loses” is stored, FOREVER, in the files of the NSA.

After all, the NSA has searchable recordings of all emails by EVERYBODY, so that NOTHING can ever be “lost.”

[MeshugeMikey]

Obie isnt going to like this one bit...that is when he reads about it in “the paper”

HIS NSA...being turned against HIS IRSS....UNTHINKABLE

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

They need to start dragging in the IT people for questioning.

[quantumman]

As a CRO I know they are backed up every Day. There are multiple copies. Enough said.

[molson209]

More Obama Admin’s Ethnic cleansing

[q_an_a]

her suggestions should be in a congressional DEMAND in served by US Marshal at 8AM Monday.

[Kit cat]

EVERYONE please visit Sheryl Atkinson’s web site and THANK her for
her true journalism and courage!!!! WE NEED TO SUPPORT HER!!!!!!

[FlJoePa]

Yes. I agree. I wanted to just link her website, but there are a few people here that make it their day’s work to rip on someone that posts something excerpted when it doesn’t technically have to be.

I think you know who you are.