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You are confusing the local desktop copy with the actual destination, which is on a remote server. A copy of your sent items is kept and archived under your control; that is what you are talking about. The IRS wants people to believe this is the only copy, and therefore a hard drive crash on a single machine -- Lois Lerner's -- could delete all the emails.

This is false.

In addition to the local copy, received emails are also retained and archived on your incoming email server, and sent emails are retained and archived on the email servers of the recipients. There are almost certainly local email copies of the various correspondents as well.

Unless deleted from all desktops, all servers, and all archives these mails still exist. The IRS is simply lying.