> Federal prosecutors say they should not have to sort through the files at taxpayer expense, but have objected to their erasure.

Umm, what? The prosecutors don't think they should be responsible for obtaining and examining the evidence to build their case? Who the hell else should be? It's _exactly_ what they are being paid to do!

I fully agree that they shouldn't be wasting taxpayer money on it, but only because they shouldn't be wasting it on this case in the first place. If it were a case that actually merited attention, though (say, 25 PB of child porn or snuff video), "we shouldn't have to pay to store and handle this much evidence" would be an unacceptable response. I can only hope that it's motivated by a desire to somewhat gracefully rid themselves of a toxic case.