The House Judiciary Committee will hold two hearings next week to examine alleged misconduct by Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen stemming from the investigation into whether the IRS improperly targeted tea party and other conservative groups.
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan said Friday that House Republicans are considering impeaching Koskinen.
“Commissioner Koskinen failed to fulfill his duty to the American people by allowing back-up tapes containing potentially 24,000 emails to be destroyed,” Jordan said in a statement. “He failed to inform Congress about the destruction of these back-up tapes in a timely manner. He gave false testimony before Congress regarding the back-up tapes, and then refused to correct the record when given the opportunity.”
Jordan was referring to the loss of Lois Lerner’s emails, the IRS official at the center of the allegations that the agency targeted conservative groups. The Justice Department in October closed its two-year investigation into the case, declining to bring charges against anyone at the agency.
“Commissioner Koskinen has most assuredly violated the public trust. It’s time for him to go. A hearing is the right first step, but ultimately Congress should hold a vote on impeachment,” Jordan said.
Asked about the hearings, an IRS spokesman told CNN that Koskinen was focusing on his work.
“Commissioner Koskinen and the IRS workforce remain focused on serving the nation’s taxpayers. In addition to completing a successful filing season this spring, we continue making progress on a number of important issues involving taxpayer service, tax enforcement and cybersecurity,” spokesman Matt Leas said.
