The IRS Scandal, Day 1363: The Final Chapter On The End Of My Daily Coverage

Peter J. Reilly (Forbes), IRS Scandal Daily Coverage The Final Chapter:

Last week, Paul Caron, the TaxProf, dean of the tax blogosphere, called an end to daily coverage of "The IRS Scandal" on Day 1352.  This was 552 days beyond the point that I had opined that the series had "jumped the shark". To be clear, I was not suggesting that the Prof stop covering the scandal, just that there be an occasional day here and there on which there was nothing to report.  So it just took another 552 posts for that to happen.  It is worth noting that there were more Happy Days episodes after Fonzie jumped the shark than before, so maybe it was not such a bad call on my part.

Regardless, in order to make case for shark jumping I went through the series in two posts which are here and here.  For the sake of completeness I thought it would be nice to go through the rest of the series to see how it is that the Prof managed to keep it going for over a year after my shark jumping call.  Over a year ago, on Day 943, Professor Caron indicated that he was running out of material and it might be ending soon.  Things changed on Day 984.  He had thought that it might end at 1,000, but the certification of a class action lawsuit - NorCal Tea Party Patriots v IRS  promised significant material for some time to come.

Just as a reminder.  Day 1, May 10, 2013, is where the TaxProf count starts with the headline - IRS Admits to Targeting Conservative Groups in 2012 Election. ...

Day 1024 is in a class all by itself as we learn that Donald Trump has been audited so many times perhaps because he is such a strong Christian. ...

Scattered among the days are full scale commentary pieces about the scandal.  I'm not going to give you a lot of links, but instead am putting out the three pieces that lay out the two extreme positions and a more intermediate one.  On Day 1008 in recognition of the scandal millennium (by TaxProf day count) Jennifer Kabbany wrote in the National Review one of the best summaries of the scandal true believer creed. ...

The series also contains reference to the counter narrative.  On Day 1144, we hear from Ralph Nader. ...

A more nuanced view, one that I find interesting although not persuasive, is put out by Joe Kristan. He believes what happens was a form of self-weaponization on the part of the IRS.

The self-weaponization of the bureaucracy against its political opponents is hugely depressing. The government workforce is overwhelmingly on the side of the political party that favors an ever-larger state. There are plenty of Lois Lerners in the IRS and throughout the Leviathan. The Tea Party scandal, and the complete lack of accountability for its perpetrators, gives no reason to hope those who don’t share that worldview can expect a fair shake. That’s especially true when the sitting president (referring to President Obama) shows no interest in discouraging such behavior

This view is buttressed by an entry on Day 965 with reports about federal employees giving more political donations to Democrats than Republicans.  ...

Most of the commenters on the coverage tended to support the anti-IRS narrative.  When I showed up, there would often be a brickbat thrown.  My favorite was from somebody who goes by Porkypine:

Peter J. Reilly's writings on this matter in Forbes have tended to be IRS/Administration apologias, under a thin cloak of reasonableness. Too thin to cover the way he hovers between disingenuousness and mendacity in these efforts, however.

There was one though who joined me in scandal skepticism. That is Publius Novus whose last supportive comment was:

I am a Reilly Agnostic. I too would like to see what's under the rocks. Specifically, I would like to hear testimony from LLerner after an immunity grant. And if the Republicons were honest about pursuing this mess, they would grant immunity. Why not Mr. Chaffetz?

It is interesting to note that Paul Caron himself called for Lerner immunity in a piece on USA Today which was featured way back on Day 369.  I have not had any luck in figuring out who Publius Novus actually is,  Paul Caron has told me that he doesn't know.  Joe Kristan suggested Judge Crater, a joke that was too obscure for me to get.  Well, he or she should not have any trouble finding me.

And those comments are probably an indication of one of the best things about the TaxProf's chronicle.  It took the people who follow it out of their bubbles.  It will be interesting to see whether the crusade picks up again.  I can see in the coming weeks as the practicality of the Obamacare replacement or the wall building becomes challenging, that representatives of the Trump administration and the Republican congressional majority will start pining for the days when the buck did not stop with them. Then they will recall that Lois Lerner was probably the best enemy that they ever had and the scandal will get another lease on life.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 1360: VP Pence, GOP House And Senate Push Trump To Fire Koskinen (Jan. 28, 2017)
• 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)