The IRS Scandal, Day 1159

Heartland Institute, House Lawmakers Censure IRS Commissioner Koskinen:

A U.S. House committee overseeing the administration of justice in federal courts and agencies voted to censure a high-ranking Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official for his role in covering up abuses of power at the federal revenue-collection agency.

Beginning in 2010, employees of IRS’ Exempt Organizations division, under the supervision of division Director Lois Lerner, violated IRS policies by singling out organizations for special examination based on a group’s name or policy positions, with the aim of slowing or preventing the ability of conservative organizations to receive tax-exempt donations in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

Lawmakers on the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee say John Koskinen, the current IRS commissioner, participated in covering up Lerner’s actions by destroying public records and stonewalling government investigations.

With the committee having approved the censure in June, the House will vote on the measure. If the censure is approved, Koskinen will be stripped of his taxpayer-funded pension and other government perks.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), a member of the House Oversight Committee, told Budget & Tax NewsKoskinen’s actions and statements meet the legal standard necessary for censure.

“We think the standard is dereliction of duty, gross negligence, and breach of public trust,” Jordan said. “Obviously, Mr. Koskinen has done just that. When it’s something of this magnitude, where documents are under two subpoenas and there have been three document preservation orders in place, and under his watch 422 backup tapes were destroyed containing potentially 24,000 e-mails, … that’s a breach of public trust and gross negligence.” ...

Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute, says the IRS has also refused to enforce Obamacare provisions.

“In terms of the bigger question of what the IRS has done wrong, it goes way beyond the attempted suppression of Tea Party groups,” Mitchell said. “It deals with everything from the fact that they arbitrarily and unilaterally ignore certain Obamacare law provisions simply because the White House decided that they wanted to change the rules, notwithstanding that the law theoretically means what the law says.”

Mitchell says IRS has effectively become a “weaponized” arm of the government.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 1158 (July 10, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1157 (July 9, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1156 (July 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1155 (July 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1154 (July 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1153 (July 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1152 (July 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1151 (July 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1150 (July 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1149 (July 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1148 (June 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1147 (June 29, 2016)
• 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