Democrats have done their best to drag out Congressional hearings on the IRS/Tea Party scandal. They point repeatedly to the number of documents turned over yet never seem to have a full explanation on why ALL documents are not immediately forthcoming. Then, they rush to the microphones to declare there's no evidence of any Administration wrongdoing even as we learn that we don't have all the facts. And if they can turn the hearings into a circus, so much the better.
Well, the claim that there's no evidence of wrongdoing is starting to wear a bit thin. On the evening of July 3rd, while most people in Washington were leaving town for the Independence Day holiday the folks at the IRS who claim to have cooperated fully released yet another set of previously hidden emails. This time, one stood out.
On April 9. 2013, just weeks before the scandal broke Lois Lerner had an email exchange with IRS technology employee. Lerner shared the exchange with Nanette Downing Director for Exempt Organizations Exam Unit Manager another key player in the scandal. In Lerner's email she said "I was cautioning folks about email and how we have several occasions where Congress has asked for emails and there has been an electronic search for responsive emails – so we need to be cautious about what we say in emails." Lerner wanted to know if the agencies Instant Message system (OCS)was traceable. The reply from the IT person was that these records were not part of an "electronic data request." Lerner responded "Perfect."
Read the email exchange for yourself.
Why would Lerner need to caution folks to be careful about what they said in emails because of Congressional oversight? I can't think of any legitimate explanation can you? But Lerner takes the cover up one step further by assuring the Instant Message system would give her a way to get around oversight. What is she hiding? The next question for investigators is whether there is any way to retrieve Lerner's instant messages? Or did that system crash too?
P.S. In Congressional hearings this week, the IRS Commissioner John Koskinen was asked if the FBI or Department of Justice had contacted him or the IRS about Lois Lerner's missing emails. He was unaware of any such contact. Does this sound like the Obama Administration wants to get to the bottom of this? What investigation has been done? Does anyone know?
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