The IRS Scandal, Day 810

Jason Chaffetz, Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and 20 Republican members of the committee, have sent this 32-page letter to President Obama, requesting that he remove IRS Commissioner John Koskinen for obstructing the congressional investigation into the IRS's targeting of conservative groups by (1) failing to comply with a congressional subpoena, (2) failing to testify truthfully, and (3) failing to preserve and produce up to 24,000 emails relevant to the investigation.

• Press Release
• IRS Scandal Timeline

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Wall Street Journal op-ed:  The Stonewall at the Top of the IRS, by Ron DeSantis (Chair, House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security) & Jim Jordan (Chair, House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules):

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen needs to go.

When it was revealed in 2013 that the IRS had targeted conservative groups for exercising their First Amendment rights, President Obama correctly called the policy “inexcusable” and pledged accountability. He even fired the then-acting IRS commissioner because he said it was necessary to have “new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward.”

Unfortunately, Commissioner Koskinen, who took over in the wake of the IRS targeting scandal, has failed the American people by frustrating Congress’s attempts to ascertain the truth. A taxpayer would never get away with treating an IRS audit the way that IRS officials have treated the congressional investigation. Civil officers like Mr. Koskinen have historically been held to a higher standard than private citizens because they have fiduciary obligations to the public. ...

If the president doesn’t remove Mr. Koskinen from his post, then Congress should remove him through impeachment. The impeachment power is a political check that, as Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 65 in 1788, protects the public against “the abuse or violation of some public trust.”

Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story echoed Hamilton in 1833 when he distinguished impeachable offenses from criminal offenses, noting that they “are aptly termed political offenses, growing out of personal misconduct or gross neglect, or usurpation, or habitual disregard for the public interests . . . They must be examined upon very broad and comprehensive principles of public policy and duty.”

John Koskinen has violated the public trust, breached his fiduciary obligations and demonstrated his unfitness to serve. Mr. President, it’s time for Commissioner Koskinen to go. If you don’t act, we will.

• The Blaze, House Republicans Call for Removal of IRS Commissioner
• Bloomberg, Republicans Seek Firing of IRS Chief in Missing E-Mail Feud
• Daily Caller, Chaffetz Calls For Obama To Fire IRS’ Koskinen 
• Fox News, Chaffetz Asks Obama to Fire IRS Chief Koskinen For 'Obstruction' of Congressional Probes
• The Hill, House Republicans to Obama: Fire IRS Chief
• National Review, House Republicans: IRS Commissioner Must Go, Even if It Takes Impeachment
• U.S. News & World Report, GOP House Chairman Asks Obama to Remove IRS Commissioner; Says He Obstructed Tea Party Inquiry
• Wall Street Journal, House Committee Chairman Asks Obama to Fire IRS Commissioner
• Washington Examiner, Chairman to Obama: Dump IRS Boss John Koskinen or He'll Be Impeached
• Washington Post, House Republicans Want IRS Commissioner Fired

• The IRS Scandal, Day 807 (July 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 806 (July 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 805 (July 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 804 (July 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 803 (July 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 802 (July 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 801 (July 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 701-800 (April 10, 2015 - July 18, 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)