EVERYBODY'S heard about the various soundbites throughout the day Friday, but it's just too extraordinary to skip over.
As if the IRS Chief telling Congress, “I don’t think an apology is owed” for allegedly 'losing' Lerner's emails wasn't enough…
TheBlaze: IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Friday that he doesn’t believe the IRS owes Congress an apology for losing several years’ worth of emails Republicans are seeking as part of their investigation into the IRS targeting scandal, or for the delay in telling Congress about the lost emails....It was also discovered in today's hearing that the White House and the Treasury Department learned about Lerner's alleged hard drive crash 6 WEEKS before Congress! Who's playing political games in Washington, again?
Koskinen testified at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Friday and faced frustrated Republicans who were seeking clarification about the timeline of when the IRS knew about the lost emails, and why the IRS didn’t immediately tell Congress. ...
...when Camp asked if Koskinen would support the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the lost emails, Koskinen tried a few times to deliver a longer answer, which prompted Camp to interrupt and ask for a yes or no answer, amid grumbling from committee Democrats.
“I think the appointment of a special prosecutor after the six investigations ongoing and the IG investigation into this matter ongoing, would be a monumental waste of taxpayer funds,” Koskinen finally said.
“So is that a yes or a no?” Camp asked.
“That’s a no.”
Camp also asked Koskinen about reports that Lerner’s hard drive was destroyed. Koskinen confirmed that it was “recycled and destroyed.”
Koskinen defended the IRS’s overall transparency in the case, and said the IRS has sent thousands of Lerner’s emails and thousands of documents to Congress as part of the investigation.
But Camp and other Republicans said the IRS has proven itself to be untrustworthy. They noted that the IRS first said the targeting scandal was directed by a few rogue officials in Cincinnati, and it was later shown that it was directed by Lerner from Washington.
“The IRS has lied to Congress and the American people,” Camp said. “After all the obstruction, I fear this Congress and the American people cannot take the IRS at its word.”
“I don’t believe it,” added House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). “That’s your problem. Nobody believes you.”
An EXCELLENT Mark Levin Show Friday evening covered the day's hearings and hit this IRS scandal HARD! Definitely worth checking out (AUDIO)...CNSNews: In sworn testimony Friday, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen admitted that the IRS told the Obama administration about Lois Lerner's missing emails in April, six weeks before telling Congress, even though Congress had subpoenaed Lerner's emails as part of its investigation into the alleged muzzling of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status before the 2010 election.
"The IRS knew in February, or maybe even in March, and Treasury and the White House knew at least in April -- but Congress and the American people didn't find out until June. Were you purposely not telling us?" House Ways and Means Chair Dave Camp (R-Mich.) asked Koskinen. "Were you purposely not revealing this to the American people?"
As expected, the Democrats had no interest in their President's Executive Branch corruption...really drained that swamp, Nancy!On Friday's Mark Levin Show: Mark lambasts IRS Commissioner John Koskinen for not being forthcoming with all the evidence regarding the IRS scandal. Mark says a Special Prosecutor should have been appointed months ago, that Congress should have went thru the courts so that they had subpoena power and also that there were real repercussions for what happened. Mark asks if anybody really believes that Lois Lerner’s hard drives crashed and destroyed, when it just seems illogical that this would all happen at this moment in time. Congressman Paul Ryan calls into the show and explains that this seems like a cover-up in some extent, and that there needs to be further investigations. Not one Democrat spoke up at the IRS hearing today, proving that they aren't concerned with the American citizenry under attack.
- Dem Rep. Lloyd Doggett: IRS Tea Party Targeting A Phony Scandal, “Not A Serious Investigation,” A GOP “Conspiracy”…
- Dem Rep. Joe Crowley: It’s Ok IRS Lost Lerner Emails Because Bush Did It…
- Dem Rep. Earl Blumenauer Blames Government Shutdown For Lost IRS Emails…
TheBlaze: The hearing was punctuated by several interruptions from committee Democrats who argued that Republicans were being too harsh to Koskinen, including by interrupting his answers. A few Democrats used their time to let Koskinen say whatever he wanted to get his point of view across at the hearing.
TheHill: The White House on Friday accused Republican lawmakers of propagating unfounded claims over the loss of Lois Lerner’s emails regarding the IRS targeting of conservative political groups.I imagine they do. As WeaselZippers repeats often, "The arrogance of this administration is mind-numbing."
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House opposed appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the missing email controversy.
ADDENDUM: Looks like there might be other places to look; however, they all involve the same corrupt Executive Branch.There's what the NSA may possess...
TheDC: Republican Congressman Kenny Marchant asked IRS Commissioner John Koskinen Friday if FBI or National Security Agency databases possibly contain copies of the presumably destroyed Lois Lerner emails — the second Texas Republican to suggest the NSA’s domestic spying program could be used to investigate corruption at the tax agency....and also, there may be a top Obama assistant involved (shocker, huh?)...
TheDC: An IRS official whose emails were “lost” visited the White House frequently during the agency’s targeting of conservatives and met with a top assistant to President Obama who exchanged confidential information on conservative groups with the IRS.And the IRS CANCELLING its contract with an email-storage firm only weeks after Lerner’s computer crash isn't at all suspicious!
The IRS recently claimed that it lost emails from Nikole Flax, who served as chief of staff to former IRS commissioner Steven Miller. Flax was one of seven IRS employees including ex-official Lois Lerner whose emails to and from White House officials and other Obama administration agencies were purportedly deleted and could not be handed over to congressional investigators. ...
Flax met twice in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with deputy assistant to the president for health policy Jeanne Lambrew, on Oct. 5, 2012 and Jan. 15, 2013. ...
As The Daily Caller reported, Lambrew exchanged confidential taxpayer information on conservative groups with IRS official Sarah Hall Ingram in 2012 as the White House tried to figure out how to deal with a lawsuit filed by a religious organization fighting Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate. Lambrew also hosted 155 of Ingram’s 165 White House visits.
Lambrew, who started working for Obama as a health policy adviser to the then-senator’s 2008 presidential campaign, is identified as the most powerful official within the White House on Obamacare implementation.
Time for a few more subpoenas, don't ya think?
Today the media’s reasoning is roughly as follows: The IRS went after some conservative groups and is engaged in an illegal coverup. We also don’t like these groups, also believe they deserve special scrutiny, and also think there’s something inherently shady about conservatives (but not liberals) who try to buy political influence. If White House staff says they weren’t involved we’ll take their word for it. Pardon us if we’d rather cover something more relevant to American lives today. Like the 82-year-old name of the football team that plays in DC.
