Yes, that is the point.  Digital messages are never really "gone" if they at any time traversed any sort of network, whether a cell phone tower or the internet. And even the ones that only exist on a personal device which were never sent on a network (think word document created and saved on a personal computer but never sent anywhere) are retained after being deleted from the recycle bin...at least until the point that those old files are overwritten by something new or somehow erased entirely from the hard drive (think Hillary using bleach bit)..and even then, I believe they may still be able to be obtained.  I personally believe that in the case where any messaging-capable device is at all connected to the internet, the NSA likely downloads and retains all files, even local files.  I can't prove it, but it stands to reason they would.  Consider the fact that they're even tapped in to Xbox and PlayStation.    When Q said things like "these people are stupid" and "they never thought she would lose," this is the sort of shit he was talking about. The cabal's conspiracy is only as strong as their ability to retain control over key players in various bureaucracies at this point.  They have to rely on their network of co-conspirators more than anything else because they fucked up their digital game and because again, the bitch lost. Keep in mind why that matters.  They allowed themselves to get sloppy because they never thought she would lose and that any of this shit would ever see the light of day.  Because they fucked up their digital game and have to rely on a network based out of blackmail, criminal involvement, etc., this makes them all the more exposed.  Because humans aren't perfect, and they would have to at least be as perfect in the actions of their human network as the act of properly destroying a digital trace in multiple places (which they clearly failed at) to have any shot at all. And that's what we're watching.  They fucked up, and now you see the different players trying to sabotage and obfuscate in order to make up for their digital fuckup.  And those assholes are getting taken down one way or another.  We've seen several of them go already.  And some have been flipped.  We see this, too.  It's only a matter of time at this point.  In other words, it's a lot easier for them if there is no digital evidence left behind.  But because there is plenty, they have to rely on a more unreliable strategy, which is trusting that multiple conspirators in a far reaching criminal conspiracy will all perfectly play their parts in protecting the entire group. Something like that is always likely to fall apart.  All it takes is for one person to fall or cooperate and then the house of cards eventually falls.  I once heard a veteran homicide detective say that the more people involved in a conspiracy, it's likelihood of success without ever being caught is diminished by (I think he said) orders of magntitude.  So for every person involved, their chances are less and less..and as we've seen, there's a lot of people involved.  Their plan to mitigate against this was largely based in their ability to retain control of the relevant levers of power.  Which would have acted as a force multiplied counter against the very principle referenced by the homicide detective.  Which is why blackmail is such an important part of their human network.  It bolsters an otherwise unreliable strategy of depending on humans to act in concert to protect the herd.  But, they had all their eggs in that basket and then dropped the basket.  Make no mistake, they're fucked. Q and team are genius, yes.  But to be honest, the enemy's sloppiness gives them a huge additional advantage. In any case, what's coming will be glorious.  But we need to remember this time in history so that we are guarded against this sort of chicanery in the future.  We dodged a bullet here, but it was too close.  When this is all said and done, we have a duty to teach the next generation what happened here lest our great grandchildren find themselves in a worse predicament.