Rep. Chaffetz Moves to Censure IRS Commissioner for Failure to Cooperate

It seems like Obama’s tenure as president has yielded scandal and outrage aplenty. One of the more high profile cases would be that of the Internal Revenue Service and their apparent targeting of conservative groups.

The probe of illegal acts of partisan targeting by the IRS began in 2013, but as with any of the investigations into misdeeds under this administration, it has been met with much resistance.

On Wednesday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House investigative panel introduced a measure to censure IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, for failure to cooperate with the investigation.

From Fox News:

“Rep. Jason Chaffetz, head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking Koskinen’s resignation or removal for what he calls an alleged ‘pattern of conduct inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as an officer of the United States.’

If censured, Koskinen, who became commissioner in 2013, would also forfeit his government pension and other federal benefits.”

While Obama’s Justice Department concluded a probe into the IRS case last year and concluded there was no evidence of wrongdoing on any IRS employee’s part, just the fact that it’s Obama’s Justice Department should cast extreme doubt on the findings.

“Chaffetz on Wednesday cited a long list of grievances in calling for the censure — including Koskinen allegedly lying under oath, allowing ‘key evidence’ to be destroyed by failing to comply with a subpoena and not preserving backup computer tapes that contained as many as 24,000 missing Lerner emails, allegedly destroyed by a computer malfunction.

‘Koskinen must be held accountable for his misconduct,’ Chaffetz said in a statement. ‘I am committed to using every tool at my disposal to hold Mr. Koskinen responsible for his offenses.’”

Chaffetz joined with 51 other members of Congress in July 2015 in sending a letter to President Obama, asking that he remove Koskinen from his position as IRS Commissioner. In October 2015, Chaffetz drafted a resolution calling for House proceedings for Koskinen’s impeachment. After being referred to the House Judiciary Committee, the resolution garnered 69 co-sponsors.

Predictably, Democrats find no fault with the IRS targeting, since they were largely left untouched.

“’House Republican efforts to impeach or censure the IRS commissioner are exercises in partisanship and a total waste of time and money,’ Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat on Chaffetz’s committee, said Wednesday in a written statement. He said Republican investigations have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars ‘chasing false political conspiracy theories.’”

I’d be more inclined to hear Rep. Cummings out, if it weren’t for the sheer volume of scandals coming out of this administration.

The post Rep. Chaffetz Moves to Censure IRS Commissioner for Failure to Cooperate appeared first on RedState.