Saturday, May 16, 2015
The IRS Scandal, Day 737
Wall Street Journal op-ed: How Congress Botched the IRS Probe, by Cleta Mitchell (Foley & Lardner, Washington, D.C.):
Two years ago this week, a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Information confirmed what hundreds of tea party, conservative, pro-life and pro-Israel organizations had long known: The Internal Revenue Service had stopped processing their applications for exempt status and subjected them to onerous, intrusive and discriminatory practices because of their political views.
Since the report, additional congressional investigations have revealed a lot about IRS dysfunction—and worse. But they’ve also revealed Congress’s inability to exercise its constitutional oversight responsibilities of this and other executive agencies. ...
Lying to Congress is a felony. But the Obama Justice Department has not lifted a finger to prosecute anyone responsible for the IRS scandal, including top brass who repeatedly gave false testimony to Congress.
Neither has Congress done much about being lied to by the IRS. Mr. Issa’s oversight committee first subpoenaed Lois Lerner’s emails in August 2013, then issued another subpoena in February 2014. The committee conducted a hearing on the subject in March 2014, during which Mr. Koskinen testified that, finally, the IRS would produce the Lerner emails. However, as he testified in June 2014, the agency didn’t even begin to look for her emails until February 2014. Why didn’t the House seek to enforce its first subpoena when the IRS failed to respond in the fall of 2013?
Congressional oversight has devolved into a series of show hearings after which nothing happens. No one gets fired for lying. No changes are made in the functioning of the agencies. No programs are defunded. Congress issues subpoenas that are ignored, contempt citations that aren't enforced, criminal referrals that go into Justice Department wastebaskets.
If it is to function as a coequal branch of government, Congress should establish—either through the rules of each House, or by legislation, that it has standing to independently enforce a congressional subpoena through the federal courts. Congress also should use its purse strings to change specific behavior in federal agencies. Rather than across-the-board reductions, Congress should zero out specific departments and programs as agency misconduct is uncovered. It is the only way to stop the executive branch from running roughshod over the American people.
This will be a difficult challenge as long as partisans in both houses of Congress see their role as political gatekeepers who must protect executive agencies when a president of their own party is in the White House. Congressional Democrats have done all in their power to thwart the IRS investigation, arguing with Republicans at hearings and engaging behind-the-scenes with the IRS to undermine the inquiry.
Yet it is a challenge that cannot be shirked. Congress needs to relearn how to flex serious legislative muscle to guard against future executive abuses like those from the IRS.
- The IRS Scandal, Day 736 (May 15, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 735 (May 14, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 734 (May 13, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 733 (May 12, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 732 (May 11, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 731 (May 10, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Two Years And Counting (May 9, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 729 (May 8, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 728 (May 7, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 727 (May 6, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 726 (May 5, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 725 (May 4, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 724 (May 3, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 723 (May 2, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 722 (May 1, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 721 (Apr. 30, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 720 (Apr. 29, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 719 (Apr. 28, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 718 (Apr. 27, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 717 (Apr. 26, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 716 (Apr. 25, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 715 (Apr. 24, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 714 (Apr. 23, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 713 (Apr. 22, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 712 (Apr. 21, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 711 (Apr. 20, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 710 (Apr. 19, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 709 (Apr. 18, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 708 (Apr. 17, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 707 (Apr. 16, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 706 (Apr. 15, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 705 (Apr. 14, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 704 (Apr. 13, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 703 (Apr. 12, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 702 (Apr. 11, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 701 (Apr. 10, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 601-700 (Dec. 31, 2014 - April 9, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2015/05/the-irs-10.html
"Congress issues subpoenas that are ignored, contempt citations that aren't enforced, criminal referrals that go into Justice Department wastebaskets."
Yes, I wouldn't blame that on congress though when it takes a corrupt DOJ that participated in the persecution of dissidents to enforce contempt charges.
Posted by: wodun | May 16, 2015 10:43:28 AM