House Committee Chairman Asks Obama to Fire IRS Commissioner – WSJ – Wall

“Mr. Koskinen failed to testify truthfully”, said Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, speaking of the pressing of his panel to bring contempt or impeachment charges against Koskinen, the Hill reported.

The Republican chairman of a powerful House committee is calling for the removal of the IRS commissioner, saying he has obstructed congressional investigations into the treatment of conservative groups.

“At best, Commissioner Koskinen was derelict in his duties to preserve agency records”, Chaffetz said in his statement.

The GOP’s ire stems mainly from the deletion of thousands of emails belonging to Lois Lerner, the former IRS official at the center of allegations that the agency targeted tea party groups applying for non-profit status.

Many House Republicans want the President to hire a new IRS leader.

The IRS issued a statement disputing Chaffetz’s allegations, saying the agency and “Koskinen have been cooperative and truthful with the numerous investigations underway”. He vowed at the time to restore integrity to the agency.

Ranking panel member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., issued a statement saying, “This is a strange, oddly-timed rehashing of conspiracy theories that were debunked by the Inspector General himself-who concluded in a report to the Oversight Committee just last month that there is no evidence to substantiate these claims”.

“The bottom line is that the Inspector General found no evidence to back up Republican claims of political motivation, White House involvement, or intentional destruction of evidence”, Cummings said.

Koskinen has denied during congressional hearings any attempts to withhold information, and Democrats have accused Republicans of using the case to try to stir up their political base.

Lerner, who has since retired, has emerged as a central figure in congressional investigations. Last year the House also passed one of Congressman Gosar’s amendments which cut funds for the IRS by $353 million as part of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of fiscal year 2015.

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