The IRS Scandal, Day 920

Harrison Daily editorial, Why Is No One Held Accountable?:

Never ever does anything serious seem to happen to government officials who fail to do their jobs properly, waste massive amounts of taxpayers' money, harm the innocent unfairly or even engage in criminal activities. It is happening again in the Internal Revenue Service scandal.

IRS officials in the section headed by Lois Lerner singled out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special treatment. It included lengthy delays and sometimes, outright harassment.

Lerner herself was allowed to retire from the IRS — after refusing to testify at two congressional hearings. Then, investigators were told some of her official emails pertinent to the probe had been lost when her computer crashed, ever so conveniently.

Recently, the Justice Department announced it had concluded an investigation of the matter — and would be filing criminal charges against no one.

DOJ officials admitted they found "mismanagement, poor judgment and institutional inertia" that contributed to the IRS problem.

No one has received any substantial punishment for what happened. Lerner will enjoy her full pension. Those she left behind will continue to cruise through the IRS bureaucracy until they, too, retire.

Nowhere in the government — not at the IRS, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency or any of the other places where actions demand accountability has it occurred.

Why? More important, why does no one in Congress do anything about it?

• The IRS Scandal, Day 919 (Nov. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 918 (Nov. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 917 (Nov. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 916 (Nov. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 915 (Nov. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 914 (Nov. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 913 (Nov. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 912 (Nov. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 911 (Nov. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 910 (Nov. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 909 (Nov. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 908 (Nov. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 907 (Nov. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 906 (Nov. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 905 (Oct. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 904 (Oct. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 903 (Oct. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 902 (Oct. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 901 (Oct. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 801-900 (July 19, 2015 - Oct. 26, 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)