The IRS Scandal, Day 811

Judicial Watch Press Release, IRS Produces Recovered Lerner Emails:

Judicial Watch released 906 pages of newly recovered Lois Lerner emails from the IRS that are believed to recently have been recovered by the IRS’ internal watchdog – the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).  The IRS released the emails under a court order by U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan.  The new documents show that Lois Lerner and other top officials in the Exempt Organizations Unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including soon-to-be Acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller, closely monitored and approved the controversial handling of tax-exempt applications by Tea Party organizations.  The documents also show that at least one group received an inquiry from the IRS in order to buy time and keep the organization from contacting Congress. ...

“These recovered Lois Lerner emails had to be dragged out of the Obama IRS, which is still resisting a federal court order requiring disclosure of Lerner’s ‘lost’ emails,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  “This material shows that the IRS’ cover-up began years ago.  We now have smoking-gun proof that top officials in the Obama IRS unlawfully harassed taxpayers just to keep them from complaining to Congress about IRS’ targeting and abuse.  No wonder the Obama IRS has had such little interest in preserving or finding Lois Lerner’s emails.”

• Breitbart, IRS Documents: Renegade Tax Agency Used Donor Lists to Steer Audits
• Washington Times, New IRS Lerner Emails Show Agency Tried to Block Congressional Scrutiny: Watchdog

Americans for Tax Reform, IRS Used Instant Messaging System to Hide Internal Communications:

The IRS used a “wholly separate” instant messaging system that automatically deleted office communications, according to documentation released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday. The system appears to have been purposefully used by agency officials responsible for the targeting of conservative non-profits, in order to evade public scrutiny.

• Daily Caller, Lois Lerner Used Instant-Messaging System Because It Didn’t Save Her Messages
• Newsmax, Lerner Used Program That Automatically Deleted Messages
• Washington Free Beacon, IRS Concealed Internal Communications By Using Instant-Messaging System

MSNBC (The Maddow Blog), House Republicans Pretend IRS ‘Scandal’ Still Exists:

It’s been about two years since Republicans and much of the Beltway media thought it had finally uncovered a real White House “scandal.” According to the narrative, the Obama administration used the Internal Revenue Service to “target” conservatives, which represented an outrageous abuse of power.

For about a week, it looked like a serious, proper controversy, worthy of outrage. Soon after, however, the whole thing collapsed – the tax agency scrutinized liberal, conservative, and non-ideological groups, effectively ending the story. Every allegation, including conspiracy theories about White House involvement, evaporated into nothing. For two years, GOP lawmakers looked for evidence of wrongdoing, and for two years they found no proof to bolster their apoplexy.

It came as a bit of a surprise, then, to see 21 House Republicans hold a press conference late yesterday, trying anew to breathe life into a discredited story. ...

Just so we’re clear, these House Republicans still haven’t uncovered any evidence of official wrongdoing, and they didn’t accuse Koskinen of having any role in “targeting” anyone. Rather, the GOP lawmakers are convinced Koskinen hasn’t done enough to help them find evidence to substantiate allegations that fell apart two years ago.

Or put another way, they want to fire the IRS guy who replaced the other IRS guy who was fired over a “scandal” that never really existed in the first place. ...

[Y]yesterday’s press conference appeared to be an example of House Republicans throwing a tantrum just for the sake of throwing a tantrum – they still have no evidence of an actual scandal and they offered literally nothing new yesterday other than their own misplaced outrage.

This isn’t even a close call. Cummings pointed to the recent release of a report from the IRS inspector general’s office, which made explicitly clear to the Oversight Committee that there’s just nothing here. Republicans accused Lois Lerner of deliberately crashing a hard drive; the inspector general found the opposite. Republicans said back-up tapes were intentionally destroyed; the inspector general found the opposite. Republicans said Koskinen tried to hide information from Congress; the inspector general found the opposite. Republicans said the IRS hid damaging emails; the inspector general found the opposite.

Why GOP lawmakers even bothered with yesterday’s press conference is something of a mystery. Maybe they were bored. Maybe someone needed a pretense for a new fundraising letter. Whatever the reasoning, there’s still no reason to take any of this nonsense seriously.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 810 (July 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 809 (July 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 808 (July 26, 2015)
• 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)