The IRS Scandal, Day 1147

Politico Morning Tax: What's Next For John Koskinen?, by Bernie Becker:

The good news for Republicans seeking to remove the IRS commissioner: A group of legal scholars all agreed that providing false testimony to Congress rises to the level of impeachable offense. But as our Katy O’Donnell noted, there wasn’t a groundswell of support for the case that Republicans like House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Rep. Jim Jordan were pushing — that Koskinen only needed to commit a bad act, not have bad intent, to borrow the phrasing of one of the witnesses. “The House has never impeached anyone for gross negligence or I think anything akin to it, and I think opening the door to that is going to present all sorts of serious problems,” said Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina.

In any event, the House Freedom Caucus wants a floor vote on Koskinen’s impeachment for his handling of the investigation into the IRS’s improper scrutiny of tea party groups, as The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda reports.

At the same time, Chaffetz’s measure to censure Koskinen has already passed the Oversight Committee. The last time Congress censured a sub-Cabinet official was back during the Teapot Dome scandal of the Roaring '20s, according to the Congressional Research Service. (Apparently, Teapot Dome was once a plot point on “Downton Abbey.”)

Speaking of the IRS (and the Constitution):  Those GOP efforts to strip Koskinen of his salary via the appropriations process might not be standing on the most solid constitutional footing, according to Richard Rubin of The Wall Street Journal. In fact, it could be a bill of attainder — just like the GOP efforts to take away Koskinen’s pension through the censure process. “This does sound a lot like imposing a punishment without a trial,” said Richard Briffault of Columbia Law School.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 1146 (June 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1145 (June 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1144 (June 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1143 (June 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1142 (June 24, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1141 (June 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1140 (June 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1139 (June 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1138 (June 20, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1137 (June 19, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1136 (June 18, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1135 (June 17, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1134 (June 16, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1133 (June 15, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1132 (June 14, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1131 (June 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1130 (June 12, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1129 (June 11, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1128 (June 10, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1127 (June 9, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1126 (June 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1125 (June 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1124 (June 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1123 (June 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1122 (June 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1121 (June 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1020 (June 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1119 (June 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1118 (May 31, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1117 (May 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1116 (May 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1115 (May 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1114 (May 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1113 (May 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1112 (May 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1111 (May 24, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1110 (May 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1109 (May 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1108 (May 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1107 (May 20, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1106 (May 19, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1105 (May 18, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1104 (May 17, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1103 (May 16, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1102 (May 15, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1101 (May 14, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1001-1100 (Feb. 4, 2016 - May 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 901-1000 (Oct. 27, 2015 - Feb. 3, 2016)
• 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, 201