An unknown number of emails on the computer of Lois Lerner, former head of the IRS tax-exempt status department, are lost. Several media outlets say, on Friday, the Internal Revenue Service informed Congressional investigators that two years of Lerner’s emails are unrecoverable.
Lerners emails are considered valuable due to an ongoing investigation about the apparent extra scrutiny tax-exempt applications of Tea Party-affiliated organizations received from the department. Critics cry out foul play, and postulate about the destruction of data.
But, others say, the loss of emails is simply the result of an archaic computer system at the government agency. Is it possible the IRS destroyed data? What is the technological state of the IRS’ computers? What is the precedent for a loss of emails at a government agency? Is record-keeping a government wide problem?
Guest:
Sean Gallagher, IT Editor at Ars Technica, a publication devoted to technology