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Sunday, August 14, 2016

The IRS Scandal, Day 1193

IRS Logo 2USA Today, Conservatives Want to Force House Vote to Impeach IRS Chief:

When Congress returns next month from its seven-week recess, conservative rebels in the House vow to force a vote on whether to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, effectively making an end-run around reluctant House leaders to achieve their goal.

Republicans allege that Koskinen obstructed an investigation into whether the IRS improperly scrutinized conservative Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status, although they do not agree on whether the IRS chief should be impeached. Democrats have denounced impeachment efforts against Koskinen as a politically motivated "travesty" that defames an honorable public servant who has done nothing wrong.

"John Koskinen needs to go, and we are committed to that," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, said in an interview with USA TODAY.

Although House leaders usually set the agenda, Jordan and other Freedom Caucus members are using a procedural tactic called a "privileged resolution" to force an impeachment vote. They can force the vote two days after they file the resolution.

A resolution filed by caucus members before the congressional recess has expired, but Jordan said they are poised to file it again when Congress reconvenes. Lawmakers are set to return on Sept. 6. ...

Jordan said the caucus has been buoyed by an Aug. 5 decision by a federal appeals court that said the IRS has not proven that it has ended discriminatory practices against conservative groups. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reinstated a lawsuit against the agency. "The court just said that the IRS may not have cleaned up its act at all," Jordan said.

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2016/08/the-irs-scandal-day-1193.html

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Comments

Democrats have denounced impeachment efforts against Koskinen as a politically motivated "travesty" that defames an honorable public servant who has done nothing wrong.

Ya, not surprising that the Democrats are defending their program of persecution or that Publius approves of FDR's court packing shenanigans. Its called corruption.

Sad to see because limiting corruption has been one of America's major strengths over other societies. Democrats want to regress back into unfettered corruption and crime.

Posted by: wodun | Aug 14, 2016 5:09:19 PM

Recently, reading the account of FDR's court-packing effort of the mid-30s, I was struck by the similarities of the current SCOTUS majority to the reactionaries of the 30s. The book deals with the lead-up to the 1936 election, which resulted in historic gains for the Democrats in the Senate and House. Another similarity was the rise of the American Liberty League, which, 80 years hence, sounds an awful lot like the Tea Parties. Landon won two states in 1936, and the Republicans were decimated. Let's hope history repeats itself.

Posted by: Publius Novus | Aug 14, 2016 8:48:09 AM