Paul L. Caron
Dean





Friday, December 11, 2015

The IRS Scandal, Day 946

IRS Logo 2Washington Times op-ed, Why IRS Commish John Koskinen Must be Impeached, by Jenny Beth Martin (President & Co-Founder, Tea Party Patriots):

Failing to comply with a subpoena for evidence in a major investigation; lying under oath in testimony before Congress; providing misleading and inaccurate information to Congress; hampering an ongoing investigation into the targeting of innocent American citizens. These are all serious offenses, violations of the public trust.

John Koskinen, the current IRS Commissioner, committed each one. Incredibly, he has not been removed from his post. Americans, are understandably disgusted that the rules that apply to the rest of us appear not to apply to government officials who enjoy comfortable jobs with guaranteed pension packages. ...

Apparently, some in Congress misunderstand the function of impeachment. They seem to think impeachment is a tool to be used only against a government official proven guilty of committing a crime. But impeachment is not a legal remedy; it is a political remedy.

As Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 65, impeachment was meant as a remedy for “those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.”

In an age where the Justice Department is unwilling to prosecute those seen to be doing the president’s will, even in violation of the law - or, at the very least, the public trust - impeachment is the necessary and appropriate response.

At the heart of our system of government, and in fact the entire fabric of our society, is the notion of trust. Americans must be able to trust our government and have confidence that the IRS has not become a political weapon silencing people who disagree with the current administration. For violating the public trust, and for damaging the public’s faith in the integrity of our government, Mr. Koskinen must be removed from his position. There is simply no better first step to restore the public’s confidence in our government.

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2015/12/the-irs-scandal-day-946.html

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Comments

KInd of hard to be inadvertently wrong about testifying that one has diligently searched for records, when one hasn't begun to search for records. Like not even asking the unit responsible for those records if they exist.

Posted by: ruralcounsel | Dec 14, 2015 5:27:54 AM

Justice delayed is justice denied
Kostinen has been arrogant and untruthful throughout this scandal
Consequences for his actions will serve as a wake up call to others engaged in this deceitful unconstitutional behavior

Posted by: maryrose | Dec 11, 2015 4:15:07 PM

Koskinen unquestionably provided inaccurate information to Congress. Whether he did it recklessly, negligently, or merely inadvertently is a fair question and should be examined by Congress. The rest of the allegations are a lot of baloney.

Posted by: Publius Novus | Dec 11, 2015 3:48:54 PM

Thanks for keeping this scandal current in the news.

Posted by: Emb | Dec 11, 2015 8:03:37 AM