Attorneys for a criminal defendant charged that the government, in a cover-up, had destroyed evidence that would have supported the defendant in a case. The government replied that there is no evidence that would even tend to support the defendant in the case. Which one of the following is the most accurate evaluation of the government' s reply? ['If true, it effectively disproves the charge made on behalf of the defendant.', 'It leaves open the question of whether the government had destroyed such evidence.', 'It shows that the attorneys did not know whether their charge was true.', "It demonstrates the government's failure to search for evidence in its files."]