Pavlich: Don’t let the IRS get away with political targeting

In May 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirmed what many conservative activists already knew: Tea Party groups were inappropriately targeted and intimidated by the government agency between 2010 and 2013. Tea Party leaders applying for tax-exempt status were asked prying, personal questions and threatened with prison time for application mistakes or for failing to comply with IRS requests. 

The former head of tax-exempt groups at the IRS, Lois Lerner, was at the center of the controversy, after she publicly admitted to wrongdoing at a legal conference. When Congress got wind of the admission, she was called on to testify about what she knew. She pled the Fifth, twice, even when her role in the scandal was clear. 

{mosads}Lerner not only helped target conservative groups, she wanted their leaders thrown in jail in order to send a message. She worked with her friends at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Election Commission to pursue criminal charges against the groups she thought were doing political work. The goal was to stop conservative nonprofits opposed to President Obama’s agenda. Words like “patriots” and “Constitution” were flagged for extra scrutiny. 

During the congressional investigation into the targeting, the IRS failed to respond to multiple subpoenas and actively obstructed efforts to get to the bottom of what happened. And who could forget the IRS claiming to have lost thousands of emails belonging to Lerner that happened to fall into the same time period when Tea Party targeting took place? Those emails were later found, but not until current IRS Commissioner John Koskinen lied about it under oath.

Despite overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing, Lerner walked away with tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses, an early retirement and a full pension. Although she was held in contempt of Congress, it meant nothing. The DOJ didn’t pursue criminal charges, because Lerner had been working with friends in the department all along. Meanwhile, many Tea Party groups lost everything paying attorneys to fight the IRS while waiting for years to be approved for tax-exempt status. 

Late last week, there was long-awaited progress toward accountability on this injustice. The House Judiciary Committee, headed by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), announced plans to hold a set of hearings examining misconduct and to consider an impeachment resolution for Koskinen. 

“The fact that officials at the IRS wielded their power to target certain Americans for their political views is both outrageous and contrary to our nation’s values. Our government is supposed to work for all Americans, not for a particular partisan agenda. As a result of the IRS’ targeting, conservative groups were singled out across the nation, resulting in lengthy paperwork requirements, overly burdensome information requests, and lengthy, unwarranted delays in their applications,” Goodlatte said in a statement. “Despite repeated congressional efforts to get to the bottom of this matter, Obama Administration officials, including the IRS Commissioner, have consistently undermined the investigation. Over the coming weeks, the House Judiciary Committee will closely examine Commissioner Koskinen’s misconduct and the implications of his actions.”

According to the committee, the hearings are preliminary steps to impeachment. An impeachment resolution against Koskinen, which includes a number of articles with plenty of evidence to support, was introduced by House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) last year. 

“John A. Koskinen, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, betrayed the trust and confidence of the American people as an Officer of the United States, and should be removed from office,” the resolution states. “[Koskinen] offered under oath a series of false statements so utterly lacking in honesty and integrity that he is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, is unfit to hold the office of Internal Revenue Service Commissioner.”

Lerner was able to walk away, but Koskinen must be held accountable for the scandal he helped cover up. The Judiciary Committee has a duty to move forward with impeachment, not to simply entertain or flatter those seeking accountability with questions or outrage at additional, televised hearings. Americans who suffered powerlessly under overwhelming IRS intrusion into their lives deserve nothing less, and Koskinen’s behavior, which is outlined extensively in congressional reports, proves impeachment is exactly what he has earned. 

Pavlich is editor for Townhall.com and a Fox News contributor.