Despite calls from fellow Republicans and even IRS Commissioner John Koskinen himself, U.S. Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) has initiated the impeachment process for the embattled government official.
Fleming’s move, which is a privileged resolution—requiring House floor action within the next few days—will likely put many GOP lawmakers under the gun. Although the measure could be tabled, or sent to die in committee, conservatives hope to force a floor vote to put establishment Republicans and Democrats on the record.
Conservatives argue Koskinen lied to Congress about producing all of Lois Lerner’s available emails. His own agency’s inspector general said backup tapes held thousands of messages, but some were destroyed before the IG was able to review them.
While perhaps not rising to the level of impeachment, Koskinen’s leadership at the tax-collection agency has been heavily criticized. Beyond the Lois Lerner targeting scandal, the IRS also allowed thousands of taxpayers’ information to be stolen in a cyber attack.
“For years the IRS has abused its power to target people based on their political views,” Fleming said in a statement after calling up the resolution. “Commissioner John Koskinen not only did nothing about it, but continued the trend of deception by deliberately keeping Congress and the American people in the dark.
“To date no one has been held accountable and no one will unless we move forward with a resolution to require a vote on his impeachment. Congress will vote in two days. Any motion to table or refer to a committee is meant to kill the impeachment and should be viewed as a vote against impeachment by that member.
“The Department of Justice won’t do its job so it’s essential Congress steps in. It’s time for us to do our part to hold the IRS Commissioner accountable.”
