Despite the best efforts of outgoing Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), House Speaker Paul Ryan and the rest of the GOP establishment successfully blocked the effort to impeach the corrupt IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen.
Koskinen has gotten away w/ stonewalling Congress, obstructing justice, breaching public trust. It’s time Congress held him accountable.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) December 6, 2016
The right 2 pursue impeachment is an indispensable power that Congress has 4 holding government officials accountable 2 the American people
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) December 6, 2016
The pathetic excuse given by Ryan and other gutless invertebrates was that a vote of impeachment just before their Christmas vacation would disrupt the legislative calendar for 2017. So, what was their excuse back in September when Rep. Jordan originally suggested impeaching Koskinen? Oh yeah. It was election season. What was I thinking?
You may recall that the IRS has been under investigation since 2013, when former IRS Commissioner, Lois Lerner, acknowledged that the agency had illegally delayed the tax-exemption applications of T.E.A. Party and other conservative groups during the 2012 campaign season when Barack Hussein Obama was running for re-election. While Koskinen wasn’t working at the IRS at the time, he has obstructed efforts to get to the bottom of the scandal by destroying thousands of Lerner’s emails.
Under his watch, w/ subpoenas/preservation orders in place, John Koskinen allowed 422 back-up tapes, 24,000 Lois Lerner emails 2 b destroyed
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) December 6, 2016
Unfortunately, even if Ryan had suddenly grown a spine and allowed the vote, McConnell’s group of flunkies in the Senate would have stopped the effort. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)–another example of why we need term limits–made it crystal clear back in May that nothing Koskinen had done warranted his impeachment. In reality, it probably had more to do with Harry Reid’s objection to impeachment. After all, Dirty Harry has been running the show in the Senate ever since McConnell became the Majority Leader.
Now, here’s a little tidbit you may find interesting. Donald “drain the swamp” Trump could give Koskinen his walking papers, but it’s not likely to happen for two reasons:
- If Trump were to fire him and nominate a replacement, it could clearly be seen as a breach of ethics due to his current IRS audit–although The Donald hasn’t been all the concerned about ethical lapses so far.
- By doing nothing, Trump is able to keep his “maybe I’ll show ’em, maybe I won’t” tax returns secret from the American people.
In the end, a REAL opportunity by president-elect Trump to get rid of a true corruptocrat gets pushed aside in the name of protecting his political backside. Meanwhile, IRS abuse will continue against legitimate liberty-loving Conservatives.
Tyranny wins! Liberty loses! Welcome to GOP-controlled Washington!
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
