Judge: I Will Hold IRS Commissioner In Contempt

At a hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, a federal judge threatened to hold IRS officials in contempt for not following an order to produce documents as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

A federal judge threatened to hold IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in contempt Wednesday after the IRS failed to produce, as ordered, newly recovered emails of former IRS official Lois Lerner.

“Officers of the court who fail to comply with court orders will be held in contempt”, Judge Emmet G.

During the a status hearing today, Sullivan warned that the failure to follow his order was serious and the IRS and Justice Department’s excuses for not following his July 1 order were “indefensible, ridiculous, and absurd”.

“He’s not going anywhere because this president wants him just where he is – delaying, denying and complaining”, said Rep. Darrell Issa, appearing on Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto Wednesday. “Also, in the event of non-compliance with future Court orders, the Commissioner of the IRS and others shall be directed to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt of Court”.

If the roles were switched and Judicial Watch were being audited, it’s a good bet that the IRS would make sure the organization turned over – on time – all documents that the IRS was demanding.

Another installment of Lois Lerner emails has been released. The Justice Department never went back to the court when it could not meet the order, angering Sullivan. As expressed at the hearing, the Government’s reasoning is nonsensical. It began releasing some emails on July 15.

“The missing and-then-not missing Lois Lerner saga is a stark example of the Obama administration’s contempt for a federal court and the rule of law”, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) accused the IRS on Wednesday of purposefully targeting conservative groups for political reasons, and failing years later to have cleaned up the problem. Along the way in the blossoming scandal, the IRS said Lerner’s emails from the period in question were lost in a computer hard-drive crash, and later said some were recoverable.

This week, 21 Republican House members called on Obama to fire IRS Commissioner Koskinen, saying he has obstructed congressional investigations.

Sullivan ordered the IRS to produce documents as they are available every Monday.

“At best, Commissioner Koskinen was derelict in his duties to preserve agency records”, Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz said in a press conference.

Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent out an email statement to reporters calling Chaffetz’s claims conspiracy theories and saying there is no new information that would warrant this kind of letter. “Calls for Commissioner Koskinen to step down are nothing more than a manufactured Republican political crisis based on allegations that have already been debunked”.