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.

[Ann Archy]

They aren't LOST....they have been DESTROYED by the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION!!

Trey Gowdy better step on it!! SUBPOENAS FOR EVERYONE!!

[don-o]

Best post yet on this matter! Thank you.

[ken5050]

Only thing I would do differently is to remove the word PLEASE

[TennTuxedo]

IT Experts Call BS On IRS Claim To Have Lost Lois Lerner Emails

[entropy12]

I think you may be underestimating the House committee’s. This might be a strategic plan to keep things percolating until election. They know voter memories are very short.

[entropy12]

Can the House republicans appoint an independent or special prosecutor? I think that powers is available only to the Attorney General. The House republicans can investigate and then recommend findings to the AG. But if Holder ignores it nothing they can do.

[buffyt]

My computer crashed, so I can’t pay my taxes this year...
does THAT work for the IRS?

[morphing libertarian]

The person who informed the congress of this should be fired immediately.

The congress needs to expand Gowdy’s committee and combine it with Issa’s IRS “investigation. The committee should be retiled Impeachment Inquiry.

All of the questions above and subpoenas need to be issued for servers, bcd ups and wh e-mails from Lerner.

Let’s roll!