IRS Lost Emails of 6 More Employees Under Investigation 465
phrackthat writes with an update to Friday's news that the IRS cannot locate two years worth of email from Lois Lerner, a central figure in the controversy surrounding the IRS's apparent targeting of Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny. Now, the IRS says there are another six workers for whom the agency cannot locate emails. As with Lerner, they attribute the unrecoverable emails to computer crashes.
Among them was Nikole Flax, who was chief of staff to Lerner’s boss, then-deputy commissioner Steven Miller. Miller later became acting IRS commissioner, but was forced to resign last year after the agency acknowledged that agents had improperly scrutinized tea party and other conservative groups when they applied for tax-exempt status. Documents have shown some liberal groups were also flagged. ... Lerner’s computer crashed in the summer of 2011, depriving investigators of many of her prior emails. Flax’s computer crashed in December 2011, Camp and Boustany said. The IRS said Friday that technicians went to great lengths trying to recover data from Lerner’s computer in 2011. In emails provided by the IRS, technicians said they sent the computer to a forensic lab run by the agency’s criminal investigations unit. But to no avail.
Re:Massive conspiracy (Score:5, Funny)
...and just see what happens when YOU tell the IRS you've "lost" your financial records. Better get that ass high up in the air so you can fully enjoy the insertion of the jumbo-sized pineapple decked out in razor blades.
But the IRS will get completely away with this. It's all theater at that level.
NSA: For All Your Backup Needs (Score:5, Funny)
I'm sure the NSA has copies. Perhaps someone should request them?
Re:Massive conspiracy (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Massive conspiracy (Score:4, Funny)
How many emails does it take to equal 18 minutes of tape?
Re:Massive conspiracy (Score:4, Funny)
With small sets of compartmentalized computers and networks, nothing can be found with any form of system wide 'networked' search.
This keeps projects safe from all US courts, the press with friends on the inside, political parties with friends on the inside, cults, dual citizens helping spies via US front companies or any other group been observed.
A computer at a desk used by one person without the usual network backups can keep an ongoing project a bit more secure from a cleared network wide search.
Past events showed too many trusted/political active courts/bad people can do cleared network wide searches without ever been noticed at the time.
The compartmentalized system as set up is working well, even when detected nothing much is found that seems readable.
Imagine what every other branch of the mil, contractors and gov can work on in the same way without any outside/gov/court issues
A scene from the IRS offices (Score:4, Funny)
wow, the IRS thing is awesomely ridiculous. All the people under investigation have had computer crashes that prevent their emails from being delivered to the prosecutors. What are the odds?
I can see it now...
Prosecutor: "Give us the emails for Lerner!"
IRS: "Uh, sorry, computer crashed, lost his data".
P: "Really? Well, umm...I guess that is possible. How about chief-of-staff Flax? I need his emails too"
I: "Computer crashed; what a coincidence. We lost his data too."
P: "Hmm, well I got four more suspects..."
I: "Yeah, uh, let me see that list. Okay, computer crashed, computer crashed, computer caught fire, exploded, THEN crashed and... oh, you're in luck with the last one!"
P: "Are you telling me it didn't crash?"
I: "No, isn't that great? Too bad the computer was accidentally was destroyed in a bizarre pet hippopotamus incident. But don't worry, hippos are now banned from all IRS offices."