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 Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House of
Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called on
President Barack Obama to remove IRS Commissioner John Koskinen,
saying he had "failed in his duty" to keep documentation and provide
it to the committee. (http://1.usa.gov/1MSFTKV)
"The IRS failed to comply with a congressional subpoena. The IRS
further failed by making false statements to Congress. We will
pursue all constitutional remedies at our disposal, including
potential contempt proceedings or perhaps impeachment of
Commissioner Koskinen," the committee said in a statement.
The IRS reviews the activities of non-profits that apply for tax
exemption because U.S. law limits their political involvement.
Certain non-profits, designated 501(c)(4) organizations, had
increasingly been used as conduits for political spending,
especially by conservative Tea Party groups.
In May 2013, Lois Lerner, who headed an IRS unit involved in
applying extra scrutiny to conservative political groups'
applications for tax-exempt status, apologized in public for what
she called "inappropriate" review of conservative groups'
applications. Republicans have been investigating since then.
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.
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Part of the controversy stems from a computer crash that the IRS
said caused it to lose emails written by Lerner, who retired in
September 2013, prompting Republicans in June 2014 to accuse the IRS
of hiding them and obstructing their inquiry.
Koskinen "misled Congress and the American people when he appeared
before the Oversight Committee in 2014 and asserted he would produce
all of Ms. Lerner's emails," Chaffetz said in the statement.
(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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