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Watchdog: IRS erased backups after loss of tea party emails
Yahoo News ^ | 24 Jun 2015 | STEPHEN OHLEMACHER

Posted on 06/24/2015 5:18:18 PM PDT by mandaladon

WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS employees erased computer backup tapes a month after officials discovered that thousands of emails related to the tax agency's tea party scandal had been lost, according to government investigators.

The investigators, however, concluded that employees erased the tapes by mistake, not as part of an attempt to destroy evidence.

As many as 24,000 emails were lost because 422 backup tapes were erased, according to J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.

The revelation is likely to fuel conspiracy theories among conservatives who say the IRS has obstructed congressional investigations into the scandal.

George is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee Thursday morning about his investigation into the emails. The Associated Press obtained a copy of his prepared testimony.

An IRS spokeswoman said Wednesday evening the agency had no immediate comment.

George set off a firestorm in May 2013 with an audit that said IRS agents improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Several hundred groups had their applications delayed for a year or more. Some were asked inappropriate questions about donors and group activities, the inspector general's report said.

The lost emails were to and from Lois Lerner, who used to head the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. In June 2014, the IRS told Congress it had lost an unknown number of Lerner's emails when her computer hard drive crashed in 2011.

The IRS had discovered that the emails were lost in February 2014. A total of 422 computer backup tapes were erased a month later, George says in his testimony.

At the time, IRS officials said the emails could not be recovered.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: 2010election; 2011; 2012election; 2013; 201305; 201402; 201406; backup; backups; democratscandals; destruction; discrimination; elections; emails; erased; erasure; evidence; harddrive; howtostealanelection; irs; lerner; loislerner; lookasquirrel; lostemails; obamascandals; obstruction; obstructionofjustice; oops; partisanwitchhunt; persecution; stasi; teaparty; tyranny
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To: Vince Ferrer

They probably don’t “delete” it...they hide it.


21 posted on 06/24/2015 5:44:56 PM PDT by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?.)
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To: xzins
Hillary should apply for a job at the IRS. She's REALLY GOOD at erasing stuff. That's what the Fascists do when johnny law comes knockin'.

'DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE' IS NO LONGER A CRIME, APPARENTLY.

22 posted on 06/24/2015 5:45:08 PM PDT by CivilWarBrewing
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To: mandaladon

“The investigators, however, concluded that employees erased the tapes by mistake, not as part of an attempt to destroy evidence.”

This story is put out by the same people pushing to rid us of methane from Bulls, because they say it contributes to Global Warming.

I say the results of their alleged investigation is a bunch of BULLMETHANE.


23 posted on 06/24/2015 5:51:36 PM PDT by rockinqsranch ((Dems, Libs, Socialists, call 'em what you will. They ALL have fairies livin' in their trees.))
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To: mandaladon

In related but unreported news, an investigation conducted by Tom Hagen has revealed that the Corleone Family was innocent of any crimes, although members may have “mistakenly” committed murder.


24 posted on 06/24/2015 5:56:14 PM PDT by sima_yi ( Reporting live from the far North)
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To: mandaladon

About as credible as the “suicide” of political prisoners in third world hellholes.


25 posted on 06/24/2015 6:04:53 PM PDT by RKBA Democrat ( The ballot is a suggestion box for slaves and fools.)
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To: The Antiyuppie

Liberals don’t mind being hypocrites. They only use the word as a weapon against conservatives.


26 posted on 06/24/2015 6:06:49 PM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: mandaladon

Russell George is either a complet idiot incompetent to do his job OR he is in on the Coverup

No one, and I mean No one in IT at the IRS didn’t know the a Congress was looking for those emails.

The person that did it should be in jail for destruction of evidence, hindering a Federal Investigation and lying(claiming they didn’t know)


27 posted on 06/24/2015 6:12:32 PM PDT by VRWCarea51 (The original 1998 version)
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To: BwanaNdege

Depends on what their retension policy is. At my old company, it used to be 3 years. After that, tapes were reused or destroyed, fairly quickly. Not only are they too expensive to just have lying around unused (assuming they’re useable) they’re also a security risk.

So, in a sane company, sure, I could buy that they were erased/reused or destroyed. But, given that this is the government, I doubt they’re that competent.


28 posted on 06/24/2015 6:23:30 PM PDT by wbill
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To: MNDude

Depends. We reused tapes because the company was cheap. You can get several uses out of them.


29 posted on 06/24/2015 6:25:19 PM PDT by wbill
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To: mandaladon; COUNTrecount; Nowhere Man; FightThePower!; C. Edmund Wright; jacob allen; ...
The biggest killer of mankind

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...


30 posted on 06/24/2015 6:25:40 PM PDT by null and void (I wish we lived in less interesting times, but at least we have front-row seats.)
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To: Jet Jaguar; NorwegianViking; ExTexasRedhead; HollyB; FromLori; EricTheRed_VocalMinority; ...

The list, Ping

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list

http://www.nachumlist.com/


31 posted on 06/24/2015 6:27:54 PM PDT by Nachum (Obamacare: It's. The. Flaw.)
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To: mandaladon; MeshugeMikey

“Look, a flag!”

“Giant shark! Giant shark!”

“Skinny jeans tragedy!”

The presstitutes are still protecting the most corrupt administration ever.


32 posted on 06/24/2015 6:30:40 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Funny how Hollywood's 'No Nukes' crowd has been silent during Obama's Iranian nuclear negotiations.)
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To: The Antiyuppie

Obie form Nairobi was apprised of the progress of the destruction of evidence...but as he mistakenly hinted...at ..many moons ago ...it has something to do with his pen...and HIS PHIONE!!


33 posted on 06/24/2015 6:41:40 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ("Never, Never, Never, Give Up," Winston Churchill ><>)
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To: a fool in paradise
look the three and one half stooges....


34 posted on 06/24/2015 6:42:46 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ("Never, Never, Never, Give Up," Winston Churchill ><>)
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To: mandaladon
Hmmmmm.......
Anybody remember when Rose Mary Woods "accidentally" erased those Nixon tapes......
That was the top news story for weeks.....
Remember....
Oh! Wait! Nixon was a Republican.....That's why it was the top news story

Click The Pic

35 posted on 06/24/2015 6:46:32 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: mandaladon

Oops - yeah, sorry about that. Our bad.

Now where are your tax records? You’ll go to jail if you don’t have them.


36 posted on 06/24/2015 6:49:11 PM PDT by Tzimisce
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To: tcrlaf

Makes Nixon look like a retard for resigning.

All you need to be Dictator of the USA is to be in control of DOJ and have the goods on anybody in Congress via the spooks.

Clinton started it, HUSSEIN BARAKA in his faggotized and DEATH TO AMERICA way is seeking to perfect it.

The wild card is when the right leader representing the HARD RIGHT gets the power.

All bets are off then.

Payback is a bitch.


37 posted on 06/24/2015 7:05:40 PM PDT by Rome2000 (SMASH THE CPUSA)
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To: CivilWarBrewing
How many of us have erased our computer hard drives by mistake? That's what I thought..

even worse, how many have erased our backups AFTER having used hard drive failures as an excuse.

Saying it was an accident simply isn't believable.

Nothing whatsoever will come of this.

If you or I had done this in response to a Feral government investigation, there is no doubt whatsoever as to what the outcome would be.

However, rather than talk about criminal government, it's more important to talk endlessly about a flag because, ya know, flags are so important.

38 posted on 06/24/2015 7:29:02 PM PDT by zeugma (The best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun)
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To: mandaladon
The revelation is likely to fuel conspiracy theories among conservatives...

Gee... ya think?!?

39 posted on 06/24/2015 7:29:31 PM PDT by Oberon (John 12:5-6)
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To: MNDude
"My understanding is that backup tapes are not even designed to be erased, rather more tapes are purchased as more are needed. Can anyone in IT verify this?"

I've been in IT for 25 years and have done hundreds of backups. The tapes are not erased. However they are written over when it comes time to use them for a backup. Depending on what kind of backup is done a backup on a tape was usually kept for two months before the tape came up for use again in another daily backup.

In other backups a tape could sit in the library 90 days or over a year until it came up for use. The only time backup tapes were destroyed is when they were bad before use or the tape malfunctioned during a backup. I'm talking about LTO tapes and DDS3 tapes. Files on tapes were never erased! That would quite difficult (time consuming) and was totally against IT policy not to mention completely unnecessary.

BTW, tapes are reused until they fail because they are expensive -- usually 25 dollars plus for a tape. And the tape library has hundreds of tapes. And tapes do last for quite awhile -- usually many years if they are handled correctly.

40 posted on 06/24/2015 7:36:49 PM PDT by StormEye
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