IRS "Loses" Over Two Years of Lois Lerner emails...

[DKW 86 7,866]

Local PSTs are one thing, the servers still backup any email transmitted. That is a separate function decreed by statute.

Remember, these emails went from PC A to PC B. The would be parked up on both personal PCs and backed up on the 2 local servers (Exchange Server A & Exchange Server B as well.) Now say one was copied to two recipients or forwarded. That makes pst files on the PCs and on three servers. We back up on tape and on the server D Drives as well.

[Strychnine 1,808]

Local PSTs are one thing, the servers still backup any email transmitted. That is a separate function decreed by statute.

Remember, these emails went from PC A to PC B. The would be parked up on both personal PCs and backed up on the 2 local servers (Exchange Server A & Exchange Server B as well.) Now say one was copied to two recipients or forwarded. That makes pst files on the PCs and on three servers. We back up on tape and on the server D Drives as well.

It is. However, we are not talking about a public corporation that must be in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. We are talking about a government agency. If you want to argue that all of their communications should be archived, then I would certainly agree with you. But they're not. The lovely features that make things like enforcing retention policy and archiving all mail can be turned off. For all we know, some beancounter might have thought it more cost effective to switch the entire agency over to hosted Exchange, which is definitely going to have smaller quotas and thus unsaved emails. As another "for all we know" point, it could easily be IRS policy that department directors are exempt from retention and archive policies.

What I'm saying is that the mere existence of Microsoft Exchange in the infrastructure does not mean there is an infallible or even reliable method of data recovery. There are circumstances, which involve Exchange, where the data requested could reside only on her workstation for convenient deletion or removal. It would probably still be in others' mailboxes, but the problem there is that they need to know who they are.

And tape? That's so 90's.

[Strychnine 1,808]

http://waysandmeans....cumentID=384506

This bunch is making the Nixon White House look like pikers...<smh>

You need to brush up on your history, or put down the crack pipe.

So, in your mind an 18 minute gap in audio recordings is far worse than "losing" 2 full years of email correspondence? Any sensible person KNOWS those emails are retrievable and this excuse is just an exercise in covering for ALL those involved from the WH and the DoJ on down.

TBV, he is just trying to save face. This is a truly unsettling thing. I mean, these folks that just assume that anything done by one party has to be above board even when it cant possibly be defended.

And we all know that one random pc HDD crashing took out just the requested emails at:

1) the exchange email server over at the the Cincinnati IRS offices.

2) the exchange email server over at the the Washington DC IRS offices.

3) the exchange email server over at the the Executive Office Building/White House.

4) the exchange email server over at the the DOJ offices.

5) the exchange email server over at the the FBI offices.

It happens ALL THE TIME...

As someone that has worked on and performed a multitude of Exchange deployments for the last 15 years, only one phrase is necessary: Personal Storage Table. Exchange 2010 introduced all sorts of lovely features for email retention and enforcement of various email security policies, ease of tracking, and ease of searching, but they all become effectively useless when PST's are used. The PST takes the relevant mailbox data out of the Exchange information store. Once that has happened, something like an isolated computer crash (or intentional deletion of the PST) would make it all disappear. Much like employee workstations, PST's are rarely backed up by their users. I guarantee you this much: If I was abusing my power, and coordinating my efforts with others via Exchange, I would be using a PST and requesting that others do too.

Knowing virtually nothing about internet storage, this may be a dumb question but, can you essentially achieve the same thing through a VPN or, double your privacy by using PST within a VPN?

No. A VPN provides an encrypted bridge between two (or more) LAN's that have WAN access. For example, when you're on the road with a laptop connected to the hotel WiFi, you are connected to their public LAN with WAN access. Your VPN client negotiates an encrypted tunnel from your laptop on their LAN to your office LAN, thus enabling secure access to office resources. What would have actually been the most secure form of email communication (at least in this instance) would have been for all involved to use private email addresses.

Think of a PST file as a local file that stores Exchange information for offline use. By default, Exchange stores the same information in both places, local PST file and Exchange mailbox on the server. Retention policies can be set to automatically purge email at an interval, or to prevent deletion of anything at all. It has a lot of powerful features to prevent this sort of thing from happening, but they can also be disabled.

[icanthearyou 4,468]

Sorry Tex, 2+ Years of email magically disappearing off of 2-5 servers is really too much.

18 minutes of dead air on audiotape that we will never recover or know what was on that audio tape.

Likewise, we will never know what is missing from the public record on those 2+ years of emails to what could be half of Washington DC.

I had to be some very very damaging stuff to risk the public fall out by not releasing the emails. But the world will never know now.

Obama et all will never get the chance to clear their names either.

It's not over yet. Lerner could get immunity. That would mean she could no longer hide behind the 5th. At that point she either has to perjure herself or spill the beans.

[AUUSN 823]

I create a new PST every year. When I leave, a copy of my PST goes with me. It was my understanding, only emails located in the inbox, sent file and deleted files are on the exchange server.

[Strychnine 1,808]

I create a new PST every year. When I leave, a copy of my PST goes with me. It was my understanding, only emails located in the inbox, sent file and deleted files are on the exchange server.

It depends how Exchange (and subsequently Outlook) is configured. PST files can be prohibited (for example), thus forcing everything to the server. Hosted Exchange also behaves differently, which is where an outside company hosts it for you and provides access.

[DKW 86 7,866]

MORE INFO: The emails are backed up to the servers every nite.

http://online.wsj.co...etch-1402946403

IT professionals from outside the administration say the Lois Stretch is quite a stretch, too. Norman Cillo, identified as "an Army veteran who worked in intelligence and a former program manager at Microsoft," tells TheBlaze.com that if the IRS is telling the truth, it means the agency is "totally mismanaged and has the worst IT department ever." According to Cillo, there should be multiple backups, "ON SERVER HARD DRIVES AS WELL AS TAPE.

"PowerLineBlog's John Hinderaker notes that the IRS's own manual for managing electronic records mandates that "IRS offices will implement and maintain an effective records security program that . . . provides for backup and recovery of records to protect against information loss or corruption." He adds that even if "the only copies of many thousands of emails existed on Lois Lerner's desktop computer--which is certainly not true--and that computer's hard drive crashed in 2011, the emails would in all probability be recoverable. Even if Lerner threw her computer into a lake, which has been known to happen."

Hinderaker's co-blogger Scott Johnson quotes an email he received from a Justice Department source that echoes Hinderaker's former point: "Government email servers are backed up every night. So if she actually had a hard drive fail, her emails would be recoverable from the backup. If the backup was somehow also compromised, then we are talking about a conspiracy." The source adds: "I'm serious about your keeping any identifying information out of the media. Things are very, very bad."

And Rep Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, notes on Twitter that IRS Commissioner John Koskinen "testified in March Lois Lerner emails were archived." He's got the C-Span video to prove it.

A press release from December points out what happens to private companies that are as careless about preserving records as the IRS claims to be:

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it fined Barclays Capital Inc. $3.75 million for systemic failures to preserve electronic records and certain emails and instant messages in the manner required for a period of at least 10 years.

Federal securities laws and FINRA rules require that business-related electronic records be kept in non-rewritable, non-erasable format (also referred to as "Write-Once, Read-Many" or "WORM" format) to prevent alteration. The Securities and Exchange Commission has stated that these requirements are an essential part of the investor protection function because a firm's books and records are the "primary means of monitoring compliance with applicable securities laws, including antifraud provisions and financial responsibility standards."

Meanwhile, a report out today from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee quotes Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, in a floor speech last month:

This was an incompetent, ham-handed effort by one regional office in Cincinnati by the IRS. Was it right? Absolutely not. But does it rise to the level of a scandal, or the false assertion by the chairman of our committee on television, as the ranking member cited, that somehow it goes all the way to the White House picking on political enemies? Flat out untrue, not a scintilla of evidence that that is true.

That's not quite true, as the Oversight Committee report runs 69 pages. Still, one can hardly claim the absence of evidence exonerates the administration when the IRS itself claims to have lost many thousands of scintillas of evidence."

So, you see, if there are no emails, then they were manually removed from multiple server backups.

Backup servers at IRS Office in Cincinnati, The IRS in DC, The White House, The Senate, the House, the FEC, and the FBI, if you believe the testimony so far.

[Tigermike 3,657]

Obama Transparency at work.

[MDM4AU 337]

"This is the most transparent administration in history,” - Barack Obama

[TastesLikeChicken 0]

This is a 'do-nothing' presidency. Everyone, everywhere is running wild.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I respect Brit Humes. He is level headed and doesn't often be overly critical. He said yesterday "I hate it because I didn't want it to be, but this is now a failed presidency."

[TheBlueVue 177]

I respect Brit Humes. He is level headed and doesn't often be overly critical. He said yesterday "I hate it because I didn't want it to be, but this is now a failed presidency."

Really? WoW! So, Brit just now realizes it...better late than never.

[Tigermike 3,657]

Destroy the evidence and plead the fifth...what are they going to do...contact the DOJ? Hahahahahahahaha.

Who are they going to call, the FBI? LOLOLOLOLOL!

Maybe have the Harry Reid Senate investigate? ROTFLMAO!!!!

Have the media do an in-depth investigation? Hohohohohohoho!!!

Impeach me? GUFFFFAWWWW!!!!

Please have the appropriate agencies erase all evidence of this email.

Peace and Love,

Barry

link

[Guest NC1406]

cptau, They didn't "lose" them at all. They erased them. Just like Watergate. This took a lot of time and a lot of coordination. There are federal statues that had to be broken on recording and archiving these emails. Lerner is never going to talk now. The evidence is gone and you wont see one Liberal anywhere going to say one word of condemnation about it.

They are guilty.

They knew these emails would prove it.

They purposely dragged their feet to give them time to insure they were removed from all servers and PCs etc.

There is no other way ALL of these emails are now gone.

If Bush Admin had done this, there would be media folks camped out on the WH lawn righteously destroying that Administration.

But this was released on Friday afternoon, buried in a report, and will be OLD NEWS by Monday.

An incompetent government that can't run an Internet web portal for healthcare insurance and cant keep its most sensitive data from walking out the door with a defector to Russia still can erase e-mails.

I once met a researcher who looked through old government documents in archives to find things for historical research purposes. In many cases the official documents of record may have been destroyed or lost but copies always turned up elsewhere eventually. All these ex Senators, Representatives, and Presidents are pack rats. They keep all their personal records and eventually those records windup being donated to some university. So these records will show up, but unfortunately it make take 20 to 30 years.............

The smart politicians and executive do not use e-mail. They never even log on to an e-mail system and read their own e-mails. They have someone else log in and print them out. Other politicians use personal / unofficial e-mail accounts to by pass the official system where messages are stored, logged and backed up.

Private emails are illegal for government use.

[Tigermike 3,657]

How convenient, now it comes out that the hard drive from Lois Learner's computer has been destroyed. Tell me again how they have nothing to hide. http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/irs-lois-lerner-emails-108044.html?hp=f2

[DKW 86 7,866]

PROBLEM: Even with the old tape backup, when LL's HDD crashed, they would have simply installed a new HDD or given her a new PC/Laptop and got the backups from the tape drive. They admit holding onto the backup 6 months right? Well, it certainly did not take 6 months to figure out that the HDD had crashed.

Replace, Reboot, Restore. This is not rocket surgery.

Anybody else on the board wanna take bets on being audited soon? lol

[MDM4AU 337]

Liberals are loving this. Were it the Bush admin doing it to the liberal groups, they would be having an absolute come-apart right now. But since it's one their own and conservative groups appear to be the target, they are tickled pink.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

Liberals are loving this. Were it the Bush admin doing it to the liberal groups, they would be having an absolute come-apart right now. But since it's one their own and conservative groups appear to be the target, they are tickled pink.

You so do not understand those you perceive to be on "the other side."

[MDM4AU 337]

Ok, let me clarify...most liberals today. I wasn't meaning to lump them ALL together. But I don't doubt there are a couple of prominent posters in here that are cheering this on.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

Ok, let me clarify...most liberals today. I wasn't meaning to lump them ALL together. But I don't doubt there are a couple of prominent posters in here that are cheering this on.

I must not know any liberals then. I'm not sure why anyone would "love this" or be "tickled pink." Its amazing how many of you guys cast me as an ultra liberal and then describe as liberal folks doing and liking things I don't personally experience or witness.

[Tigermike 3,657]

But that works both ways doesn't it Tex? There's a lot of 'lumping and casting' from the left and from the right.

[MDM4AU 337]

This was not aimed at you. You were not one of those I was thinking of. Do you not think there are those left of center on this board that are that divisive? Or are the only divisive people on here the right-winged nut jobs?

[TexasTiger 14,070]

This was not aimed at you. You were not one of those I was thinking of. Do you not think there are those left of center on this board that are that divisive? Or are the only divisive people on here the right-winged nut jobs?

I was commenting on your post and simply pointing out I don't personally see evidence of what your saying. Certainly I've seen posts, mostly on other sites, of extreme viewpoints on the left. But extreme elements on the right are far more prominent in media and elective office.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

But that works both ways doesn't it Tex? There's a lot of 'lumping and casting' from the left and from the right.

Yes. But most lumping of the right on this forum is in direct response to positions that are articulated.

[TheBlueVue 177]

Ok, let me clarify...most liberals today. I wasn't meaning to lump them ALL together. But I don't doubt there are a couple of prominent posters in here that are cheering this on.

I must not know any liberals then. I'm not sure why anyone would "love this" or be "tickled pink." Its amazing how many of you guys cast me as an ultra liberal and then describe as liberal folks doing and liking things I don't personally experience or witness.

When I mention liberals Im thinking of the ones in Washington insistent on making decisions for people regarding what is best for them like for instance forcing Dan Snyder to change the name of the Washington Redskins. Seriously? In America? How does Harry Reid figure this is this administrations top priority when there has NEVER even been a poll that indicated native Americans were offended by this name. This is the same party that absolutely insists that african american citizens dont have the wherewithal to procure voter IDs so they insist requiring one is racist. I would say their position on voter ID is the worst sort of bigotry there is but, dont be confused, allowing people to vote without ID benefits democrats. Who'da thunk it?

Typically, liberals are not interested in whats best for anybody other than themselves, in a political context. Many like you, Tex, never call them on it but, choose instead, to very condescendingly defend their positions, as if, anyone disagrees is uninformed and basically backward and stupid.