The IRS Scandal, Day 1226

Wall Street Journal editorial, The Impeachment Distraction: Koskinen and the IRS Deserve Rebuke, but Not If It Costs the Senate:

House Speaker Paul Ryan has managed to unite his fractious GOP caucus around some common campaign goals. So it’s a pity that two months from an election some House Members are driving an issue that could cost Republicans control of the Senate.

Louisiana Rep. John Fleming on Tuesday moved on a privileged resolution to force the House to vote as soon as Thursday to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The IRS chief has earned public opprobrium, but the timing of this effort could boomerang and end up making the IRS less accountable.

These columns have been out front in documenting Mr. Koskinen’s failures after he promised to clean up the IRS following its political targeting of conservative nonprofits. Mr. Koskinen has failed to be candid with Congress and defied subpoenas. Documents requested by Congress were destroyed on his watch. He’s done nothing to reform the agency and he has supported a new draft regulation, now in temporary abeyance, that would reinforce the agency’s political vetting.

The question is whether impeachment is the right remedy at the current political moment. The case for it is that Congress needs to reassert its own powers against a runaway executive branch. President Obama has diminished the power of the purse and won’t prosecute contempt citations against witnesses who refuse to testify on Capitol Hill. Impeachment is about all Congress has left.

The problem is that a trial is doomed to fail in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required to convict. There are differing views on whether a House impeachment vote triggers an automatic Senate trial, but if it does this could require vulnerable GOP incumbents to stay in Washington at the height of the campaign. This would be a gift to Democrats trying to regain the majority. ...

No doubt many House Members genuinely believe Mr. Koskinen deserves impeachment, but other Republicans have legitimate doubts that his offenses rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors” mentioned in the Constitution. An impeachment trial now will divide Republicans while uniting Democrats. Why take the risk when Mr. Koskinen is leaving office in a mere four months?

Congress needs to think seriously about how to reassert its powers no matter who wins the White House. But the reality is that a Senate Democratic majority would make that task impossible. Republicans should focus on re-electing their majorities in Congress as a check on the next President, instead of making self-defeating political gestures.

• Bloomberg, Impeachment Vote on IRS Head Delayed by Deal to Hold Hearing
• Daily Signal, Freedom Caucus Cuts Deal with GOP Leadership, Cancels Vote to Impeach IRS Chief
• The Hill, Huelskamp Expects IRS Impeachment Vote Next Week
• New York Times, House Calls Off Vote to Impeach I.R.S. Chief in Favor of Formal Hearing
• NPR, House To Hold Impeachment Hearing Against IRS Commissioner
• Politico, GOP Negotiators Reach Deal to Postpone IRS Impeachment Vote
• Roll Call, IRS Impeachment Vote Could Still Happen Next Week
• Talking Points Memo, Why Delaying The Controversial IRS Impeachment Vote Is A Win-Win For GOP
• USA Today, House Leaders Avert Vote to Impeach IRS Chief With Last-Minute Deal
• Wall Street Journal, House Conservatives Shelve Plan for Impeachment Vote on IRS Chief
• Wall Street Journal, House Republicans Ease Effort to Impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
• Washington Examiner, Conservatives Declare 'Huge Win' After IRS Impeachment Delay
• Washington Post, Impeachment Vote Averted by Promise of IRS Commissioner’s Testimony

• The IRS Scandal, Day 1225 (Sept. 15, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1224 (Sept. 14, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1223 (Sept. 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1222 (Sept. 12, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1221 (Sept. 11, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1220 (Sept. 10, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1219 (Sept. 9, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1218 (Sept. 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1217 (Sept. 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1216 (Sept. 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1215 (Sept. 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1214 (Sept. 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1213 (Sept. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1212 (Sept. 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1211 (Sept. 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1210 (Aug. 31, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1209 (Aug. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1208 (Aug. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1207 (Aug. 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1206 (Aug. 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1205 (Aug. 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1204 (Aug. 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1203 (Aug. 24, 2016) 
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1202 (Aug. 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1201 (Aug. 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1101-1200 (May 14, 2016 - Aug. 21, 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