In the bubble of Washington, pols strain at the gnat and swallow the camel. They chase after media-driven pseudo-scandals while letting real scandals linger.
Take the scandal of the IRS’s harassment of non-profit groups during the Obama administration. Getting to the bottom of that scandal is far more important than any of the election-related wild goose chases under discussion in the press. Americans don’t toss and turn at night over fears of a hazy network of Russian hackers. But they do fear letters from the IRS.
To their credit, a few conservative Republicans in the House still draw attention to the unresolved scandal at the IRS. “Frankly in my view the most corrupt IRS commissioner that I’ve ever dealt with continues in my view to mislead Congress,” according to Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. “And until he’s removed I don’t think the IRS will ever regain its credibility.” Brady is referring to the still-unsacked John Koskinen, the Obama-appointed IRS commissioner who stonewalled Republicans during the Lois Lerner investigation. Even the circumspect Mitch McConnell calls Koskinen a “disaster.” A letter sent by the House Republican Study Committee to President Trump explains why:
The IRS, through its targeting of citizens for their political beliefs, has forfeited the trust of a free people. The IRS has admitted to improperly targeting conservative groups, delaying applications for tax-exempt status from 2010-2012, with at least 75 groups selected for extra scrutiny. Moreover, in August 2016, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the IRS had yet to demonstrate that officials have definitively ceased targeting conservative groups. The ruling came at the heels of evidence that two targeted conservative groups continued to have delayed applications for tax-exempt status pending at the IRS.
Congressional investigations, hearings, and actions have shown that Commissioner Koskinen misled Congress, obstructed investigations into the IRS, and failed to comply with Congressional subpoenas. Commissioner Koskinen’s willful deception and obstructionism has only further eroded any remaining confidence.
Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7803, you have the authority to remove Commissioner Koskinen. We encourage you to dismiss him in the most expedient manner practicable. Such an action would restore the credibility of our Federal tax authority and the faith the American people have in their Constitutional rights to free speech and association.
Obama left office claiming that his administration had been “scandal-free,” a whopper blatantly refuted by the politicization of the IRS on his watch. If Congress fails to ventilate the IRS scandal sufficiently, Obama’s embeds at the IRS will continue to harass conservative groups. A lazy and biased media has pushed the propagandistic line that the scandal was overblown and is now ancient news. It isn’t.
Take the scandal of the IRS’s harassment of non-profit groups during the Obama administration. Getting to the bottom of that scandal is far more important than any of the election-related wild goose chases under discussion in the press. Americans don’t toss and turn at night over fears of a hazy network of Russian hackers. But they do fear letters from the IRS.
To their credit, a few conservative Republicans in the House still draw attention to the unresolved scandal at the IRS. “Frankly in my view the most corrupt IRS commissioner that I’ve ever dealt with continues in my view to mislead Congress,” according to Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. “And until he’s removed I don’t think the IRS will ever regain its credibility.” Brady is referring to the still-unsacked John Koskinen, the Obama-appointed IRS commissioner who stonewalled Republicans during the Lois Lerner investigation. Even the circumspect Mitch McConnell calls Koskinen a “disaster.” A letter sent by the House Republican Study Committee to President Trump explains why:
The IRS, through its targeting of citizens for their political beliefs, has forfeited the trust of a free people. The IRS has admitted to improperly targeting conservative groups, delaying applications for tax-exempt status from 2010-2012, with at least 75 groups selected for extra scrutiny. Moreover, in August 2016, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the IRS had yet to demonstrate that officials have definitively ceased targeting conservative groups. The ruling came at the heels of evidence that two targeted conservative groups continued to have delayed applications for tax-exempt status pending at the IRS.
Congressional investigations, hearings, and actions have shown that Commissioner Koskinen misled Congress, obstructed investigations into the IRS, and failed to comply with Congressional subpoenas. Commissioner Koskinen’s willful deception and obstructionism has only further eroded any remaining confidence.
Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7803, you have the authority to remove Commissioner Koskinen. We encourage you to dismiss him in the most expedient manner practicable. Such an action would restore the credibility of our Federal tax authority and the faith the American people have in their Constitutional rights to free speech and association.
Obama left office claiming that his administration had been “scandal-free,” a whopper blatantly refuted by the politicization of the IRS on his watch. If Congress fails to ventilate the IRS scandal sufficiently, Obama’s embeds at the IRS will continue to harass conservative groups. A lazy and biased media has pushed the propagandistic line that the scandal was overblown and is now ancient news. It isn’t.