The IRS attorney who worked to turn over Lois Lerner’s emails to congressional investigators now has a new gig, this time at a federal agency steeped in its own email controversy.
Catherine Duval now works at the State Department where she is in charge of that agency’s email productions, House Oversight member Trey Gowdy revealed during a hearing last Thursday. Prior to that, Duval worked as chief legal adviser to IRS commissioner John Koskinen.
During a line of questioning at last week’s hearing, which was reported by CNS News, Gowdy asked Timothy Camus, the deputy inspector general for investigations for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration about Duval.
“I want to ask you about another name. Have you ever heard of the name Kate Duval?” Gowdy asked.
Camus said that he had.
“Who is Kate Duval? Because I think I’ve heard that name before too,” said Gowdy.
“Kate Duval is the chief counsel representative, the IRS’ counselor concerning the production issues to Congress,” Camus said. “She was a lawyer in charge of making sure the counsel made production to Congress.”
“So she’s in charge of making sure that emails and other matters get produced?” Gowdy asked.
“Yes sir,” Camus replied.
Gowdy asked Camus where Duval currently works, though admitting he already knew the answer.
“No, I know where she is now,” said Gowdy. “She’s at the Department of State, in charge of their email productions.”
“Wow,” Gowdy added before yielding back his time.
The exchange is applicable to Gowdy’s work on the House Select Committee on Benghazi. As Oversight has battled with the IRS over its failure to turn over emails from Lerner, who served as the tax agency’s director of exemption organizations, Gowdy’s Select Committee has struggled in dealing with the State Department concerning former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email account.
The State Department asked Clinton for her work-related emails only in December, nearly two years after she left office. It has since been revealed that Clinton had a personal server for the emails. It has since been wiped clean. The State Department has also been forced to admit that Clinton failed to turn over some work-related emails. But the agency has said it will not investigate why.
At IRS, Duval made news after it was revealed that she told a friend of hers at the Treasury Department that some of Lerner’s emails were missing. That information made its way to the White House even before the Oversight Committee was told.
During last week’s hearing it was revealed that the IRS shredded a hard drive containing thousands of Lerner’s emails. The agency has so far refused to turn over those emails, which are central to Oversight’s investigation of whether Lerner and other IRS officials unfairly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
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