IRS commissioner and House Judiciary panel face off today over impeachment effort

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen gets his day in court, I mean before a House panel, today. The appearance comes after an effort to bring a vote on impeaching the 48thh IRS commissioner to the full House floor last week was deferred so that the House Judiciary Committee could hear testimony from Koskinen. The opportunity to present his side was a key reason that Koskinen visited the House earlier this month. With today’s hearing, at which he’s the only witness, he’ll be able to do that, presuming, of course, that hostile GOP questioners give him the chance. Koskinen, who missed a prior Judiciary Committee hearing on his job performance due to a schedule conflict, would not have been able to make his case if the impeachment consideration had gone straight to the House floor for a vote. Members of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus of the Republican Party have been pushing for Koskinen’s removal for more than a year for what they view as his malfeasance as head of the agency during Congressional investigations into how the IRS handled applications for 501©(4) tax-exempt status. The IRS admitted that it inappropriately targeted some of the groups seeing the favorable tax status. While organizations with connections to various political stances were found to be part of the IRS mishandling of applications, Republicans have focused on the problems encountered by Tea Party affiliated groups. The issue came to light in May 2013 with the release of a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigation findings. Further examination revealed thousands of emails from the account of Lois Lerner, the former chief of the IRS division charged with reviewing and granting the nonprofit status, were lost or destroyed. Those missing emails are part of the reason the GOP says Koskinen should be removed from his post before his terms ends in November 2017. The standard for impeachment is not criminal intent, says Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). “The standard is breach of public trust, gross negligence, dereliction of duty – certainly all of those have been met with the fact pattern of what the IRS did under Mr. Koskinen’s watch,” argues Jordan. If the Judiciary Committee recommends Koskinen’s impeachment, a full House vote is not expected until after the Nov. 8 election. A simply majority of the 435 members will mean that the matter goes to the Senate, where two-thirds of those members must vote for a conviction in order to remove the commissioner. If, however, the Judiciary Committee decides not to move the impeachment process forward, House members who want Koskinen gone say they will again take steps to force a full chamber vote on his removal. You also might find these items of interest: House Oversight panel censures IRS chief Koskinen   IRS emails are still lost, GOP investigators are still unhappy House Republicans say, ‘Impeach IRS commissioner.' Tax professors say, 'No.’ GOP House Speaker says … Related articles Paper Tiger: Impeach the IRS Commissioner? House Conservatives Urge Vote on Impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen House Impeachment Vote Delayed As IRS Commissioner Agrees To Testify IRS 'incompetence’ blamed for lost Lois Lerner emails TaxProf Blog

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IRS commissioner and House Judiciary panel face off today over impeachment effort