WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service did not follow the law when it failed to report the loss of records belonging to a senior IRS executive, the nation’s top archivist told Congress on Tuesday. It was the latest development in the congressional probe of the agency’s targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

In June 2011, IRS executive Lois Lerner’s computer crashed, resulting in the loss of records that are now sought in investigations into the agency’s actions. When it was determined later in the summer of 2011 that the records on the hard drive were gone forever, the IRS should have notified the National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. Archivist David Ferriero told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But Ferriero learned of the lost records on June 13 when the IRS notified Congress.

Additional Images

U.S. Archivist David Ferriero testifies Tuesday at a Capitol Hill hearing on the missing emails of an IRS executive. The Associated Press

“Any agency is required to notify us when they realize they have a problem,” Ferriero said.

Lerner is at the center of the controversy and has refused to answer questions from Congress, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. In May, the House voted to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress. She retired from the IRS last fall after having been placed on paid leave.

In an effort to determine whether the Obama administration had any knowledge or involvement in the activities of the IRS division that reviews applications for tax-exempt status, lawmakers have sought and received thousands of IRS records – none of which has implicated the White House in the controversy. But when it was revealed that some of the emails sought were unrecoverable, Republicans questioned the timing of the hard drive crash, suggesting key records related to the investigation have conveniently gone missing.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has said that he has seen no evidence anyone committed a crime when the agency lost emails.

Pressed by a congressman Tuesday, Ferriero would not state that the IRS broke the law. He would only say that the agency didn’t “follow” the law, referring to the Federal Records Act.

In a rare evening hearing before the same committee on Monday, Koskinen said there was no evidence that Lerner intentionally destroyed the missing emails. To the contrary, he said, the IRS went to great lengths trying to retrieve lost documents on Lerner’s computer, even sending it to the agency’s forensic lab.

Republicans have said the Obama administration has not been cooperative with Congress’ investigation.

Monday night, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., subpoenaed White House counsel Jennifer O’Connor to testify about her time at the IRS from May to November 2013. While at the IRS, O’Connor helped the agency gather documents related to the congressional investigation.

On Tuesday, when he questioned O’Connor, Issa called her a “hostile witness.”

O’Connor disagreed. “I’m definitely not hostile,” she said.

Later in the hearing, Issa said he consulted with another member who is a former prosecutor and the proper term to describe O’Connor was a “non-cooperative witness.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House has been cooperating throughout the investigation.

Related Stories