An inspector general at the Treasury has recovered thousands of emails from Lois Lerner when she was at the IRS that were previously believed to have been lost after a computer crash,
The Hill reported.
Congressional committees involved in the investigation into the improper targeting of tea party groups said the Treasury's inspector general for tax administration (TIGTA) turned over roughly 6,400 new emails either to or from Lerner from between 2004 and 2013.
Of the new emails the inspector general found, around 650 were from 2010 and 2011, while most were from 2012, The Hill said. In total, 35,000 emails have been recovered from recycled back-up tapes.
In a statement, the IRS said it was glad to hear that the inspector general found the Lerner emails, calling it "an encouraging development that will help resolve remaining questions and dispel uncertainty surrounding the emails."
The IRS also said it took the inspector general around 10 months to recover the emails affected by Lerner's computer crash.
Lerner had been the focus of a congressional investigation into the targeting. Lerner was placed on leave in May 2013 and retired four months later. She denied any wrongdoing but refused to testify before Congress.
Her attorney, William Taylor, recently said he and his client were "gratified but not surprised" by a decision by the U.S. Attorney's Office not to pursue contempt of court charges against her,
Fox News reported.
A spokesman for Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch said the committee hoped the new emails would bring the panel closer to releasing the findings of its IRS investigation.
"These emails will be carefully examined as part of the Committee's bipartisan IRS investigation," a spokesman said, according to The Hill. "After TIGTA produces their report regarding the missing data later this year, the Committee hopes to follow suit and move forward with the release of its bipartisan report on this issue."
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