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Thursday, June 25, 2015

The IRS Scandal, Day 777

IRS Logo 2Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Investigator: IRS Erased Computer Backups After Officials Realized Tea Party Emails Were Lost:

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. George says those tapes "most likely" contained emails to and from former IRS official Lois Lerner, who has emerged as a central figure in congressional investigations.

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

TIGTAThe House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform holds a hearing today on Missing IRS Emails: An Update From the Inspector General:

PURPOSE:

  • To focus on the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA) findings with respect to Lois Lerner’s recovered e-mails and to examine the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) response to the congressional investigations on the targeting program. 

BACKGROUND:

  • From February 2010 to May 2012, the IRS subjected conservative applicants for tax-exempt status to systematic scrutiny and delays. On May 10, 2013, Lois Lerner, former Director of IRS Exempt Organizations, publicly acknowledged the targeting and apologized.
  • The Committee requested documents and communications from the IRS to assist in its investigation of the targeting program. The IRS did not cooperate voluntarily and two subpoenas were eventually issued—one to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on August 2, 2013, and the second to then-new IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on February 14, 2014. At a hearing on March 26, 2014, Koskinen testified that all Lerner’s e-mails would be provided to the Committee.
  • Less than three months later, on June 13, 2014, the IRS informed Congress that it had lost or destroyed almost two years’ worth of e-mails to and from Lerner. On November 21, 2014, TIGTA notified congressional investigators that it located approximately 30,000 of Lerner’s “missing” e-mails. Recently, TIGTA informed the Committee it had recovered as many as 80,000 of Lerner’s e-mails, including duplicates, which were found among hundreds of “disaster recovery tapes” that were used to back up the IRS e-mail system.

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONIES

  • Russell George (Inspector General,  Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration)
  • Tim Camus (Deputy Inspector General for Investigations,  Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration)

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2015/06/the-irs-scandal-day-777.html

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Comments

Conspiracy or incompetence?
Which is the saddest state of affairs?

Posted by: weedpuller | Jun 25, 2015 8:12:09 PM

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

That is a theory and there is a conspiracy but there isn't a conspiracy theory. Its pretty obvious to everyone at this point that a coverup is taking place as the Obama administration runs out the statute of limitations clock.

Posted by: wodun | Jun 25, 2015 11:43:54 AM

I'm not sure when it stops being a conspiracy theory and when it becomes a description of what happened.

Posted by: Jonathan Card | Jun 25, 2015 10:46:57 AM