As a federal employee I know for a fact that there are digital copies on an email server somewhere. Emails go from the computer, to the email server, then to the recipient. That email server keeps copies of them. So even though the hard drives have been destroyed, there are copies on the IRS email server. Those hard drives CAN’T be destroyed.
Well, Koskinen swore under oath that Lerner's HD was destroyed, as well as several others of interest.
Here's a thing I remain curious about. There has been talk about a six month cycle in which tape backups are over written. I have heard no talk about off site storage - where is the vault and what is in it?