Lost emails protect IRS
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Destroyed evidence in IRS investigation could have exposed Lois Lerner
EXPOSED — More than two years’ worth of Lois Lerner’s emails were erased in a suspected cover-up. Google Images
Former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official Lois Lerner has been in the news in recent weeks following the discovery that emails from her Blackberry had been deleted. This event is directly related to the current congressional investigation against the IRS.
Many news outlets have speculated that these emails could have been evidence in the investigation into the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups and were deleted from Lerner’s phone. This is just another example of the abuse of power overtaking Washington, D.C.
Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel for the IRS Thomas Kane wrote in a sworn declaration that the BlackBerry was “removed or wiped clean of any sensitive or proprietary information and removed as scrap for disposal in June 2012.”
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has said more than once that Lerner’s hard drive crashed, according to The Blaze. However, many have questioned the validity of this statement.
According to Fox News, there are more than two years worth of emails that have been deleted with supposedly no way to retrieve them. Is it truly possible that the government has no way to back up lost or deleted information?
Lerner, who has found herself at the heart of this scandal, has not built a strong image for herself during her professional career. What started with a lawsuit that seemed illegitimate has become a mass investigation into the IRS, as it very well should.
The grandiose overreaches of today’s government and the stigma that politicians are untouchable is taking over politics while the real issues are sidelined. If the IRS was not destroying evidence, more time and resources could be given to greater dire issues. If politicians and government workers did their jobs with integrity, citizens would put more faith in our republican form of government.
Following the speculation that surrounds this situation, Judicial Watch launched its own investigation into whether or not Lerner’s emails could have been saved.
“When government does not meet its obligations to turn over evidence, the system falters,” District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who is presiding over Judicial Watch’s lawsuit against the IRS, told Fox News.
“A Department of Justice attorney told a Judicial Watch attorney on Friday (Aug. 22) that it turns out the federal government backs up all computer records in case something terrible happens in Washington,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
Many officials have reportedly come out stating that there is indeed a backup system in effect and the government could find said emails that were allegedly lost. This is an instance where government organizations are more concerned with covering up corruption than bringing those responsible to justice.
The new question becomes: Why are the e-mails still missing? The answer is simple — Washington plays favorites.
This instance is not the first time Lerner has been accused of overlooking information or targeting conservatives. In an email to her husband, Lerner used colorful language to describe some members of the GOP, and proceeded to call them “crazies,” according to The Huffington Post.
This issue does not hinge on technical glitches. The answers are available. The IRS agents who abuse their positions need to be punished accordingly and reminded that the organization is here to help the government and people, not assist in advancing its own political agenda.