The IRS Scandal, Day 1351: Two Federal Judges Order Five Officials To Preserve Emails Sought In FOIA Lawsuits; Judicial Watch Fears Another Lois Lerner Situation As Obama Administration Leaves Power

Politico, Judge Orders 4 Homeland Security Officials to Preserve Private-Account Emails:

A federal judge has ordered four current or former top officials at the Department of Homeland Security, including Secretary Jeh Johnson, to preserve emails in their private accounts that may be responsive to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss issued the order Wednesday morning to Johnson, former Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, former chief of staff Christian Marrone, and former General Counsel Stevan Bunnell, telling them to copy relevant messages to thumb drives.

Moss said the Justice Department indicated that all four men agreed to preserve any responsive messages that might be in their private accounts, but he still granted the preservation order sought by the conservative group Judicial Watch, which said it feared the government might lose easy access to the records as Obama appointees ship out.

“Given the Department’s representation, the Court has no reason to doubt that the four individuals have agreed to comply fully with their obligations to preserve any potentially responsive emails and that they have every intention of doing so,” wrote Moss, an appointee of President Barack Obama.

“Nonetheless, out of the abundance of caution, the Court will order an additional preservation step to minimize the risk of any inadvertent loss of potentially responsive emails. Specifically, the Court will order the individuals to copy any emails from the relevant time period in any private email accounts that might contain responsive materials onto portable thumb drives, to be kept in the individuals’ personal possessions,” the judge added. “Copying the emails to a physical drive will minimize the risk that any responsive email might be inadvertently deleted.” ...

In a separate Judicial Watch case before another judge, the Justice Department indicated Wednesday that one of its top officials has no record of an email he apparently sent to a top Clinton campaign official in May 2015 previewing an upcoming congressional hearing and an expected DOJ filing in a court case related to Clinton’s emails.

Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Peter Kadzik sent the message with the subject line “Heads Up” to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Clinton campaign aides said the communication was routine, but Donald Trump’s campaign has alleged it showed improper collusion between Justice and the Clinton camp. The contact is one focus of a Justice inspector general investigation announced last week.

The message from Kadzik to Podesta was one of tens of thousands of messages that were hacked from Podesta’s account and posted online by WikiLeaks during the campaign in an effort U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was part of a Russian government-led drive to influence the U.S. presidential election and bolster Trump’s chances. ...

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a preservation order Wednesday at Judicial Watch’s request and instructed the government to report by this morning on its efforts to comply.

Before It's News, Federal Judge Orders DHS Officials to Not Destroy Email:

Even though the judge says the doesn’t doubt their intent, of course he does. He’d have to have been utterly brain dead to not see what is going on from Lois Lerner to Hillary Clinton and beyond. Even as this was happening, another federal judge was discovering that the word of an Obama official that they’d complied with the law wasn’t worth a whole lot.

• Press Release, Court Victory: Federal Judge Orders Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Other Top DHS Officials, to Preserve Email Records Sought by Judicial Watch
• Press Release, Court Grants Judicial Watch Request, Orders Top Obama DOJ Official to Preserve Podesta Email Communications

• The IRS Scandal, Day 1350: Even Trump Adviser Buys Myth Of 'Scandal-Free Administration,' Despite IRS, Five Other Scandals (Jan. 18, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1349: Peggy Noonan On The Obama Presidency And The IRS Scandal (Jan. 17, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1348: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse Of Political Groups (Jan. 16, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1347: IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins Resigns, Effective Jan. 20; GOP Questioned His Role In Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 15, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1346: The Trump Dossier, The Left, And Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 14, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1345: Donald Trump, The Intelligence Community, And Lois Lerner (Jan. 13, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1344: Democrats Remind Jeff Sessions AG Enforces 'Every Law,' Yet Were Silent When DOJ Declined To Prosecute Lois Lerner (Jan. 12, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1343: IRS Let Lois Lerner Off The Hook By Paying $12 Million For Email Backup System It Did Not Use (Jan. 11, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1342: New Chair of House Oversight Committee Pledges To Increase IRS Accountability (Jan. 10, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1341: Another View Of The Republicans' Reactivation Of The Holman Rule And Lois Lerner (Jan. 9, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1340: Tax Professors Discuss The Future Of Tax Administration And Enforcement After 'What The Media Often Refer To As The 'IRS Targeting Scandal'' (Jan. 8, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1339: House GOP Reactivates 'Holman Rule,' Would Have Permitted Reducing Lois Lerner's Pay To $1 (Jan. 7, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1338: Commissioner Koskinen Says Trump Transition Team Has No 'Axes To Grind' Against IRS (Jan. 6, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1337: The IRS Is The Third Biggest 'Tax Offender Of 2016' (Jan. 5, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1336: Fragmented Oversight Of Nonprofits In The United States (Jan. 4, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1335: Politics, Disclosure, And State Law Solutions For 501(c)(4) Organizations (Jan. 3, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1334: The IRS’s Diminished Role In Overseeing Tax-Exempt Organizations (Jan. 2, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1333: Republicans Weasel Out Of Impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Jan. 1, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1332: The House GOP's Ridiculous Impeachment Crusade (Dec. 31, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1331: Rep. Jim Jordan Offers Resolution To Impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Dec. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1330: House Republicans And Democrats Forge Rare Bipartisan Agreement To Block Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1329: Did The IRS's Targeting Of Conservative Groups Lead It To Grant Tax-Exempt Status To 'Hate Groups'? (Dec. 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1328: House's Referral Back To Judiciary Committee Is Likely To Kill Koskinen Impeachment (Dec. 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1327: Delay In Koskinen Impeachment Is Discordant Note In Kumbaya Between Trump And GOP Congress (Dec. 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1326: Only 72 House Republicans Voted Against Delay In Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1325: House Impeachment Leader Grills Witness Over Giving Koskinen 'Excellence In Public Service' Award (Dec. 24, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1324: Ways & Means Committee Seeks Information From IRS About Continued Targeting Of Organizations Based On Political Beliefs — This Time, Pro-Israel Groups (Dec. 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1323: Tea Party Group Decries IRS's 'Latest Bob And Weave To Avoid Accountability' (Dec. 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1322: Government Denies That It Continues To Harass Tea Party Group (Dec. 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1321: Maureen Dowd, Donald Trump, And The IRS Scandal (Dec. 20, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1320: How The GOP Establishment Teamed With Nancy Pelosi To Table Impeachment Vote On IRS Commissioner (Dec. 19, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1319: How Will The Koskinen Saga End? (Dec. 18, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1318: More On Koskinen And Trump (Dec. 17, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1317: Koskinen Says He Is Willing To Serve Another Term As IRS Commissioner If Trump Wants To Reappoint Him (Dec. 16, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1316: IRS Commissioner Koskinen Says Resignation Did Not Come Up In Meeting With Trump Transition Team (Dec. 15, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1315: Bureaucratic Bumbling Or Targeting Of Conservatives? (Dec. 14, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1314: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse of Political Groups (Dec. 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1313: The Koskinen-Trump Connection (Dec. 12, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1312: Impeachment Averted, But Will Koskinen Resign Or Be Fired By President Trump? (Dec. 11, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1311: The IRS 'Scandal' Was Part Of GOP's Strategy To Bog Down Obama Administration (Dec. 10, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1310: Rep. Jim Jordan Is 'Frustrated' By House Passing On IRS Chief Koskinen's Impeachment (Dec. 9, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1309: How Trump Got Yanked Into GOP's IRS Impeachment Fight (Dec. 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1308: House Votes To Send Koskinen Impeachment Back To Judiciary Committee (Dec. 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1307: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1306: Government Rejects Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1305: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1304: 'The IRS Has Never Stopped Targeting Conservatives' (Dec. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1303: Group Sues IRS For Failure To Produce Communications With Joint Committee on Taxation (Dec. 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal,  Day 1302: The 'Corrupt' IRS Is Still Persecuting The Tea Party (Dec. 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1301: If Koskinen Is Impeached Or Fired, Trump Could Appoint New IRS Commissioner To Go Easy On His Taxes (Nov. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1201-1300 (Aug. 22, 2016 - Nov. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1101-1200 (May 14, 2016 - Aug. 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1001-1100 (Feb. 4, 2016 - May 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 901-1000 (Oct. 27, 2015 - Feb. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 801-900 (July 19, 2015 - Oct. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 701-800 (April 10, 2015 - July 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 601-700 (Dec. 31, 2014 - April 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)