One of the main tenets of the IRS’s (current) story about the Lerner emails is that they went to “extraordinary lengths” to recover them, but —darn the bad luck!!— they just couldn’t. Oh, well.

But based on the following questions from Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz, I’m guessing that YOUR definition of going to “extraordinary lengths” is probably not in sync with what the IRS’s definition seems to be:

Gee, isn’t that …completely illogical? Apparently they HAD back-up tapes of the emails at the time, yet even as their crack squad of computer forensic specialists was in the midst of going to “extraordinary lengths”, somehow no one thought it was worthwhile to …pull the EXISTING BACK-UP TAPES? Really???

Sure. Yeah, that certainly sounds kosher.

Oh, and one more thing. Keep in mind that the IRS was also paying a company called Sonasoft to back-up their emails, too. Yet in another in a series of the most amazing coincidences, the IRS serendipitously decided that Sonasoft’s services were no longer necessary, …after Lerner’s computer crash.

Not before, mind you. AFTER:

(via J.E. Dyer over at LibertyUnyielding) – “…The record at USASpending.gov verifies that the IRS had an annually renewed contract with Sonasoft at the time of the supposed loss of Lois Lerner’s emails, in June 2011. Patrick Howley beat me to the finish line to report (at TheDC) that the Sonasoft contract was terminated shortly afterward. The annual contract, which had been renewed in September 2010, expired without renewal on 31 August 2011. The IRS-Sonasoft relationship was severed altogether on 8 September 2011, with a de-obligation purchase order.

So that’s awfully interesting. Whatever Sonasoft’s obligations after the contract was terminated, it’s clear that the company had a relevant contractual obligation to the IRS at the time of the supposed email loss. There seems to be no question that Sonasoft’s knowledge of the email “catastrophe” needs to be investigated…”

Let’s review, shall we?

First we were told that we’d get all of Lerner’s emails.

Then, we were informed “Whoops! Her computer crashed; they’re gone“.

Then we’re informed that six high-ranking officials who were also involved in the IRS targeting of conservative and tea party groups had THEIR computers crash, too.

Then we find out that Lerner’s computer crashed TEN DAYS after Dave Camp (House Ways & Means Chairman) made his 1st inquiry about the IRS targeting conservative groups.

And now we find out that not only did the IRS forensic team mysteriously not pull the existing back-up tapes, but that the IRS’s outside email protection vendor had their contract cancelled AFTER an incident happened that would have actually brought their services into play. Basically, Sonasoft was fired right when they finally could’ve provided the service for which the IRS had ostensibly been paying them for years.

How does this make sense? Do YOU keep a law firm on retainer for years and, after you finally get sued, THEN fire them? There’s simply too many coincidences here, and far too many facts which don’t add up.

Well, …actually they DO add up.

Not in the way that the IRS and the Administration says they do, of course. But the facts absolutely add up.