Which is good because if I lost necessary documents in a computer crash they wouldnt let me off the hook.

that's going to someone else? It's on a network somewhere, right?

and are working on a total of 67,000 emails.

The answer to your question may be partially answered in the article itself:

Arrest that computer!

Seriously, a computer crash is "unauthorized destruction?" Seems to me there has to be some kind of willful act to meet that definition. And a computer crash does not destroy emails. The emails in question are presumably on another computer, so how are they "destroyed"?

spinning so much they must have dug down to Orwell from the far side of the planet by now. My guess would be that was why the archivist said "alleged."

I wouldn't worry about the computer though. It looks as though it received it's "just desserts" since it was first sent to forensics and then recycled.

She's baaaaack!

Maybe his name is Jason. You ever think of that? Huh?

The facts that doesn't seemed to be mentioned is this crash took place 14-16 days before the IRS inquiry even came into place. So this woman knew before an investigation, and knowing everything is backed up, she decided to just dump emails? naaaaa sounds like GOP is fishing with bait again.....

They wouldnt give ME a break if my records were lost in a "crash". What about the off-site company hats supposed to keep up with all their stuff?

Take a deep breath and let out slowly, counting to ten. There, feel better now?

I dont trust the IRS regardless of who is in office. Seen too many people railroaded by them over nothing. A couple ruined.
So I doubt anything they say to start with. But they knew about them and didnt report it.
I run it thru my Bush filter, and if this was happening under him I'd be pissed and I bet most here would be too.

Seriously.

Its easy to find a huge list of abuses of the IRS that have nothing to do with me. And you cant call the BBB or "corporate" to complain either. It takes a lot of money to even get them to admit they were wrong, much less fix the problem. Glad you've never been a victim, but supporting government workers has nothing to do with it. If they're wrong they're wrong I dont give a shit WHO they work for. I feel the same way about Wells Fargo.

"The IRS" is a government agency, yes, but it is made up of many people who work hard to collect taxes owed. Congress cuts corners on funding so that individuals are overloaded with work and the thanks they get are guilt by association.

And refusal to admit when they're wrong and fix it. Its been that way for years regardless of who is in charge of the purse. An old friend from high school worked for them for 20 yrs before transferring to another agency and he was the first to say it was a screwed up organization. And he even worked in the enforcement division. 70000+ pages of regulations? You want to reduce their workload, there's a start.
Again, I hope it never happens to you. You'd sing a different tune.
Get rid of em and make me pay a sales tax. Easy and more revenue for the govt. and the rich pay more. Lot of other countries do it.

to completely and solely replace the tax system in place now? If so, do you consider that to be a progressive position? How many progressives do you know whom support that? And(again if this is your position) can you explain how such a tax (with whatever sources or evidence you have) will generate "More revenue for the govt." Just curious, thanks

First and foremost, there are SO MANY people who now pay little or no income taxes. Its really very easy to do because Ive seen it countless times. I'm not talking about the poor. How many times have you paid cash to have something done? Think about it; auto mechanics, construction workers, plumbers, electricians, A/C-heat repair, painters, flooring people, home care, car washes, real estate rentals, resort activities, roofers, the list is long. And that doesnt even include the criminal element who also make a lot of money. But all those people CAN avoid paying taxes on a large part of their income. Not saying they all do it, but its easy to cash a check and never declare it. Those are well paying jobs, too. So there is a lot of income out there not being taxed.
Now the rich who live a high lifestyle will end up paying more into the system; look at how much they spend on shit.
I am not sure about the "FairTax" proposal; havent looked deep into it. But a combination of a sales tax and maybe a flat income tax with NO deductions. Adopt the part of the fairtax that sends rebates out to people for amounts up to the poverty level.
The way we do it now is ridiculous (70000+ pages!!!)and raising taxes on the rich isnt enough to fund what we need to do. There arent ENOUGH of them to tax, and the rich are already paying the large share of income taxes anyway. Thats the biggest probem right now. The rich will always find a way around higher income taxes. Just like corps do.

I know the fairtax people say their plan would also replace the SS withholding as well. I really need to take the time to read just how much they say they can get with a 23% inclusive tax. Would business really lower their prices if their products werent taxed in production? Who knows.

I just know there is a LOT of untaxed money out here and we're doomed if everybody with the means to dont start helping to paddle the boat. I dont know whether to call it a "progressive" idea or not; I really dont care who supports it as long as it works.
Give me a couple months and a dozen smart people and I bet we could figure it out!

That the only copies of email are on the end-user's computer.

Every modern email server (including the venerable Sendmail with a bit of help) has the ability to "archive" or "journal" email to another store for compliance reasons.

Sorry, but this "missing email" is bullshit. Either the IRS IT department is incompetent, or the investigators are incompetent, or there's a blatant destruction of evidence going on here.

Our Federal government is ridiculously broken. I don't just mean politicians, I mean this kind of stuff. Here's a great Ars article talking about this email issue.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/06/are-those-lost-irs-emails-unbelievable-not-really/

and another talking about a Medial of Honor recipient's recommendation lost for years:

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/05/medal-of-honor-nomination-lost-in-e-mail-not-on-purpose-says-dod/

This is IT incompetence, management incompetence, and reliance on the shoddy contractor "system" our government is forced to use.

And yes, there are many people in government who are smart enough to know how shoddy the system is and they exploit that: workers, politicians and contractors.

I don't regret my votes for Obama, I love the guy, but his inability clean any of this up really disappoints me.

Just one more thing to distract and help low-info voters (apparently the majority) reinforce the Republican mantra "Obama bad."

KISS -Keep it simple stupid?