Sometimes Stuff Just Happens “Sometimes stuff just happens.” That’s how former IRS official Lois Lerner explained the “loss” of two years of her emails subpoenaed by Congress as part of our investigation into the IRS’s political targeting. And it isn’t just Lerner’s emails that are missing—the IRS has failed to produce emails from no less than six other IRS employees who are central to our investigation, citing a supposed computer crash. That excuse certainly wouldn’t have been accepted for the conservative groups subjected to harassment and improper questioning by the IRS like Tennessee’s own “Linchpins of Liberty” and it shouldn’t’ be allowed to stand now that the IRS itself is the agency in question. A leading information technology expert has called the IRS’s story “simply not feasible” and now the even the mainstream media is ridiculing their claims. My colleagues and I on the Ways and Means Committee aren’t buy the story either. That is why, today, we called IRS Commissioner John Koskinen before us to give an account of what he know about these missing documents and when he knew it. In my questioning, I told Commissioner Koskinen directly that his claims were “very curious” and pointed how unlikely it was that his agency somehow “lost” volumes of documents requested by our committee but has never reported losing any taxpayer information. You can watch a video of my questioning here. If the IRS cannot turn over these missing documents, I believe it is time to make them answer to someone who can. That is why I am fighting for a special prosecutor to fully investigate the IRS. Last month, the House of Representatives voted to do just that with the passage of H. Res. 565. This resolution earned the support of 26 House Democrats—proof that even members of President Obama’s own party aren’t buying his claim that there is not a “smidgen of corruption” within this agency. Our efforts to demand accountability from the IRS are ongoing, and I won’t rest until justice is served on behalf of every American whose First Amendment rights were violated by this government intrusion. As our work continues, I hope you will keep up-to-date with the latest on these investigations at gop.gov/IRS and consider joining me in my demands for a special prosecutor by becoming a Citizen Cosponsor of H. Res. 565 HERE. Together, we are fighting back! Diane Black Member of Congress
Posted on: Sat, 21 Jun 2014 03:43:13 +0000
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