Breaking: Justice Dept. to Investigate Lost IRS Emails

Gee is Eric Holder on vacation? How did they slip this one through? A according to prepared statement by deputy attorney general James Cole to be given to the House Oversight Committee tomorrow,  the Justice Department is "investigating the circumstances of the lost emails from [former IRS official Lois Lerner's] computer," as part of its criminal probe into the IRS's treatment of politically active conservative groups.

The Wall Street Journal reviewed tomorrow's prepared testimony today.

Mr. Cole's comments underscore the potential seriousness of the email loss, which has roiled congressional probes of the matter and angered some top GOP lawmakers. The IRS has blamed the loss on a crash of Ms. Lerner's hard drive—a common occurrence at the agency, officials say. They add a backup tape also was routinely recycled after six months.

 "Finally, someone in the administration admits that the destruction of two years of emails from Lois Lerner is fishy," said Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), the chairman of the subcommittee that is holding Thursday's hearing. "While this is welcome news, there are still significant bipartisan concerns with the administration's overall investigation of the IRS targeting.

The real question is can we trust the Eric Holder-led DOJ to conduct a real investigation of the missing emails, or is it lip service.