Over at Power Line Blog, they have posted the full text of a letter that Cleta Mitchell sent to the attorneys for the IRS and for certain individual defendants including Lois Lerner. It was inevitable that Mitchell would send such a letter. Mitchell is the attorney representing True The Vote, the group seeking to protect the validity of the electoral process that was among the alleged targets of Lois Lerner and the IRS when they went after conservative and Christian groups. The lawsuit brought by Mitchell for True The Vote also alleges that both the IRS and Lerner went after the folks who created True The Vote as well. Among other things, the suit seeks proper recompense for the violation of the Constitutional rights of both True The Vote and its individual founders.
Once the lawsuit was started over a year ago, both the IRS and Lois Lerner were under an obligation to preserve all documents and other materials (like email) that pertained to the subject matter of the suit. Simply put, the IRS, Lerner and the lawyers for each had an absolute obligation to make sure that no emails were destroyed, "lost" or otherwise made inaccessible. Indeed, Cleta Mitchell sent a letter (described in more detail in the Power Line post) warning the parties and their attorneys of their duty to preserve, among other things, all of the emails sent and received by Lerner. Violation of this requirements carries a heavy penalty for the IRS and Lerner; it also has negative consequences for the attorneys. In fact, if it is determined that the destruction of the emails was intentional, there are criminal penalties imposed on the parties and the attorneys who are responsible.
Of course, last Friday, the IRS told Congress that Lois Lerner's emails were lost in a computer crash two years ago. This claim is totally unbelievable. First, there must be a backup copy somewhere -- that too is required by federal law. Second, various IRS leaders confirmed to congress that the email in question had been archived and that they were being preserved. Third, requests were made for those documents over a year ago and no one said until now that the documents had been lost (a most unlikely result). Nevertheless, if the IRS is going to lie to Congress about the email, it will surely pay the price in the various lawsuits brought against it. Indeed, we may soon find that there is a ruling by the Federal district court that finds that the IRS intentionally violated the rights of the plaintiffs like True The Vote. I doubt that the IRS wants to have that happen. Nevertheless, it is the clear price of lying.
Once the lawsuit was started over a year ago, both the IRS and Lois Lerner were under an obligation to preserve all documents and other materials (like email) that pertained to the subject matter of the suit. Simply put, the IRS, Lerner and the lawyers for each had an absolute obligation to make sure that no emails were destroyed, "lost" or otherwise made inaccessible. Indeed, Cleta Mitchell sent a letter (described in more detail in the Power Line post) warning the parties and their attorneys of their duty to preserve, among other things, all of the emails sent and received by Lerner. Violation of this requirements carries a heavy penalty for the IRS and Lerner; it also has negative consequences for the attorneys. In fact, if it is determined that the destruction of the emails was intentional, there are criminal penalties imposed on the parties and the attorneys who are responsible.
Of course, last Friday, the IRS told Congress that Lois Lerner's emails were lost in a computer crash two years ago. This claim is totally unbelievable. First, there must be a backup copy somewhere -- that too is required by federal law. Second, various IRS leaders confirmed to congress that the email in question had been archived and that they were being preserved. Third, requests were made for those documents over a year ago and no one said until now that the documents had been lost (a most unlikely result). Nevertheless, if the IRS is going to lie to Congress about the email, it will surely pay the price in the various lawsuits brought against it. Indeed, we may soon find that there is a ruling by the Federal district court that finds that the IRS intentionally violated the rights of the plaintiffs like True The Vote. I doubt that the IRS wants to have that happen. Nevertheless, it is the clear price of lying.
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