Saturday, January 28, 2017
The IRS Scandal, Day 1360: VP Pence, GOP House And Senate Push Trump To Fire Koskinen
Newsmax, Pence Will Urge Trump to Sack IRS Boss:
Responding to the urging of House Republicans, Vice President Mike Pence will soon call on President Trump to fire or force the resignation of controversial Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen. Newsmax learned this Thursday afternoon from several lawmakers at the House Republican Retreat in Philadelphia. ...
Emerging from a closed-door meeting with the vice president Thursday morning at the House Republican Retreat in Philadelphia, Rep,. Chris Collins (R.-N.Y.) confirmed that the subject of sacking Koskinen was raised. "[Pence] said 'I can hear you,'" said Collins, who said the vice president "promised us" he would share with President Trump the strong belief of Republicans in Congress that "Koskinen must go."
Washington Examiner, Led by Republican Study Committee, 50 House GOPers Tell Trump to Fire IRS Chief:
A faction of conservatives is circumventing leadership brass and calling directly on President Trump to tell IRS Chief John Koskinen, "You're fired."
Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., will make the ask. The chairman of the Republican Study Committee has quietly but urgently been circulating a letter inside the GOP conference to build support. He's now got 50 congressmen signed onto the letter.
The Hill, McConnell: Trump Should Replace IRS Commissioner:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says President Trump should replace John Koskinen, the IRS commissioner who faced an impeachment vote in the House last year. “I think he’s been a disaster and I’d be shocked if we don’t have a new one,” McConnell told The Hill on Friday. ...
The Trump transition team said in December that the then-president-elect had not yet made a decision on whether to replace Koskinen immediately or allow him to serve out the remaining year of his term.
Politico, GOP Airs Old Grievances in Private Pence Meeting:
Congressional Republicans used a private audience with Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday to rehash years-old political controversies — even suggesting Pence fire the IRS commissioner, according to sources in the room.
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1358: More Reflections On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 26, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1356: Reflections On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 24, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1353: Will The Trump IRS End, Or Embrace, Targeting Of Disfavored Groups? (Jan. 21, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1352: The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 20, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1351: Two Federal Judges Order Five Officials To Preserve Emails Sought In FOIA Lawsuits; Judicial Watch Fears Another Lois Lerner Situation As Obama Administration Leaves Power (Jan. 19, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1350: Even Trump Adviser Buys Myth Of 'Scandal-Free Administration,' Despite IRS, Five Other Scandals (Jan. 18, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1349: Peggy Noonan On The Obama Presidency And The IRS Scandal (Jan. 17, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1348: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse Of Political Groups (Jan. 16, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1347: IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins Resigns, Effective Jan. 20; GOP Questioned His Role In Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 15, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1346: The Trump Dossier, The Left, And Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 14, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1345: Donald Trump, The Intelligence Community, And Lois Lerner (Jan. 13, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1344: Democrats Remind Jeff Sessions AG Enforces 'Every Law,' Yet Were Silent When DOJ Declined To Prosecute Lois Lerner (Jan. 12, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1343: IRS Let Lois Lerner Off The Hook By Paying $12 Million For Email Backup System It Did Not Use (Jan. 11, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1342: New Chair of House Oversight Committee Pledges To Increase IRS Accountability (Jan. 10, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1341: Another View Of The Republicans' Reactivation Of The Holman Rule And Lois Lerner (Jan. 9, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1340: Tax Professors Discuss The Future Of Tax Administration And Enforcement After 'What The Media Often Refer To As The 'IRS Targeting Scandal'' (Jan. 8, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1339: House GOP Reactivates 'Holman Rule,' Would Have Permitted Reducing Lois Lerner's Pay To $1 (Jan. 7, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1338: Commissioner Koskinen Says Trump Transition Team Has No 'Axes To Grind' Against IRS (Jan. 6, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1337: The IRS Is The Third Biggest 'Tax Offender Of 2016' (Jan. 5, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1336: Fragmented Oversight Of Nonprofits In The United States (Jan. 4, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1335: Politics, Disclosure, And State Law Solutions For 501(c)(4) Organizations (Jan. 3, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1334: The IRS’s Diminished Role In Overseeing Tax-Exempt Organizations (Jan. 2, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1333: Republicans Weasel Out Of Impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Jan. 1, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1332: The House GOP's Ridiculous Impeachment Crusade (Dec. 31, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1331: Rep. Jim Jordan Offers Resolution To Impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Dec. 30, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1330: House Republicans And Democrats Forge Rare Bipartisan Agreement To Block Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 29, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1329: Did The IRS's Targeting Of Conservative Groups Lead It To Grant Tax-Exempt Status To 'Hate Groups'? (Dec. 28, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1328: House's Referral Back To Judiciary Committee Is Likely To Kill Koskinen Impeachment (Dec. 27, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1327: Delay In Koskinen Impeachment Is Discordant Note In Kumbaya Between Trump And GOP Congress (Dec. 26, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1326: Only 72 House Republicans Voted Against Delay In Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 25, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1325: House Impeachment Leader Grills Witness Over Giving Koskinen 'Excellence In Public Service' Award (Dec. 24, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1324: Ways & Means Committee Seeks Information From IRS About Continued Targeting Of Organizations Based On Political Beliefs — This Time, Pro-Israel Groups (Dec. 23, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1323: Tea Party Group Decries IRS's 'Latest Bob And Weave To Avoid Accountability' (Dec. 22, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1322: Government Denies That It Continues To Harass Tea Party Group (Dec. 21, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1321: Maureen Dowd, Donald Trump, And The IRS Scandal (Dec. 20, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1320: How The GOP Establishment Teamed With Nancy Pelosi To Table Impeachment Vote On IRS Commissioner (Dec. 19, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1319: How Will The Koskinen Saga End? (Dec. 18, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1318: More On Koskinen And Trump (Dec. 17, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1317: Koskinen Says He Is Willing To Serve Another Term As IRS Commissioner If Trump Wants To Reappoint Him (Dec. 16, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1316: IRS Commissioner Koskinen Says Resignation Did Not Come Up In Meeting With Trump Transition Team (Dec. 15, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1315: Bureaucratic Bumbling Or Targeting Of Conservatives? (Dec. 14, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1314: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse of Political Groups (Dec. 13, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1313: The Koskinen-Trump Connection (Dec. 12, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1312: Impeachment Averted, But Will Koskinen Resign Or Be Fired By President Trump? (Dec. 11, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1311: The IRS 'Scandal' Was Part Of GOP's Strategy To Bog Down Obama Administration (Dec. 10, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1310: Rep. Jim Jordan Is 'Frustrated' By House Passing On IRS Chief Koskinen's Impeachment (Dec. 9, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1309: How Trump Got Yanked Into GOP's IRS Impeachment Fight (Dec. 8, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1308: House Votes To Send Koskinen Impeachment Back To Judiciary Committee (Dec. 7, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1307: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 6, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1306: Government Rejects Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 5, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1305: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 4, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1304: 'The IRS Has Never Stopped Targeting Conservatives' (Dec. 3, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1303: Group Sues IRS For Failure To Produce Communications With Joint Committee on Taxation (Dec. 2, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1302: The 'Corrupt' IRS Is Still Persecuting The Tea Party (Dec. 1, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1301: If Koskinen Is Impeached Or Fired, Trump Could Appoint New IRS Commissioner To Go Easy On His Taxes (Nov. 30, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 1201-1300 (Aug. 22, 2016 - Nov. 29, 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, 2013)
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2017/01/the-irs-scandal-day-1360-vp-pence-gop-house-and-senate-to-push-trump-to-fire-irs-commissioner-koskin.html
Comments
I'll note that Mr. Publius never expressed any concerns about the following behavior of the IRS, when they were revealed to the public:
- Targeting of tax-exempt applicants due to their names and political positions
- Illegal disclosure of tax return information to the DOJ
- False statements to Congressional investigators
- Destruction of subpoenaed documents after they were subpoenaed
- Conflicts of interest regarding Lerner, Koskinen vis-a-vis the Obama reelection campaign
- Collusion between the IRS and Representative Cummings' office, who also circumvented the Congressional investigation while sitting on the oversign committee
I'll call out President Trump if and when he actually takes actions that create a conflict on interest regarding the IRS and his tax return status.
But I won't be waiting for Mr. Publius to show a shred of principled consistency on the issue of government accountability, for as this exchange illustrates, he has none.
Posted by: MM | Feb 1, 2017 7:56:03 AM
"Still waiting."
Not my job to supply excuses for conflicts of interest, for either party.
It's just interesting to observe that someone who for years gave the benefit of the doubt to the federal government despite evidence of malfeasance and wrongdoing, suddenly becomes concerned with transparency and conflicts of interest. I suspect it has everything to do with an election and nothing to do with principle...
Posted by: MM | Jan 29, 2017 10:54:56 PM
Mr. Spradling: You are quite correct about the professionalism of IRS auditors. Nevertheless, only the president appoints the Commissioner and the Chief Counsel.
Mr. MM: Still waiting.
Posted by: Publius Novus | Jan 29, 2017 5:34:25 PM
"I can hardly wait to have the right-wing apologists explain to us why there is nothing wrong with this."
Well, since left-wing apologists, including some royal hypocrites on this very blog, have gone out of their way explaining why the DOJ and IRS did abosultely nothing wrong for the past 7 years, why complain about consistency now?
Posted by: MM | Jan 29, 2017 10:15:41 AM
Come on PN. If you work for the feds, you know the IRS audits top government officials, including the President, every year. Granted, I did my time back in the '70s, but what I saw personally was the highest in professionalism. Auditing the high and mighty is old news for the IRS.
Posted by: Dale Spradling | Jan 29, 2017 7:12:14 AM
The more important job may be that of Chief Counsel for the IRS. From 2009 to 2016 we had William Wilkins, whose previous job was lobbying for clients that included, amazingly, the Swiss Bankers Association. Wilkins has now resigned. I hope Trump doesn't replace him with another lobbyist for massive tax cheats.
Posted by: Eric Rasmusen | Jan 28, 2017 2:17:47 PM
He should be worse than fired. Obstruct, obstruct, obstruct. Lie, lie, lie. Obfuscate, obfuscate, obfuscate. I'm surprised he wasn't Hillary's VP pick.
Posted by: Anon | Jan 28, 2017 1:20:17 PM
He should have been fired on Trump's first day in office. We now need a special prosecutor dedicated to the looking into the Democrats' weaponization of the IRS.
Posted by: VoteOutIncumbents | Jan 28, 2017 9:12:30 AM
Koskinen may resign, be fired, or serve out his term. In any event, Trump will have the opportunity to appoint a new Commissioner no later than November. So we will have a president--allegedly under a continuous audit--appointing the Commissioner who will oversee the audit. No conflict of interest there. BTW, since the Chief Counsel has already departed, Trump now has the occasion to appoint the agency's top lawyer. No conflict there either. I can hardly wait to have the right-wing apologists explain to us why there is nothing wrong with this.
Posted by: Publius Novus | Jan 28, 2017 8:34:23 AM
Why hasn't Trump fired him already. I remember a horde of trumpies commenting that congressional repubs are total wimps for not impeaching Kesigen 3 weeks before Trump was inaugurated (when the hearings would have taken months). Trump can fire him with a phone call, and he wont even do that much??
Posted by: richard40 | Jan 28, 2017 8:28:03 AM
Get John Koskin out of there yesterday even.
Posted by: Christine Booker | Feb 22, 2017 7:48:21 AM