Rep. Jim Jordan Keeping Pressure on the IRS

On Wednesday, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen was once again questioned by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Koskinen was brought before the committee this time to explain newly released emails from April 2013 which show Lois Lerner had a keen interest in knowing that IRS instant message correspondence would not “automatically save as the standard.” 

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan delivered a very effective line of questioning to Koskinen who withered away on yet another one of Lerner’s apparent missteps.

Jordan took Koskinen to task over his previous statement that “Lois Lerner was doing everything in her power to recover the lost emails from 2011,” because now it seems to be becoming more clear by the day that she in fact did the exact opposite. Why was Lois Lerner so concerned about who might end up reading her electronic correspondence? In recently uncovered emails, Lerner apparently was worried about Congress’ ability to obtain copies of emails and instant messages, particularly in 2011, after the Ways and Means Committee Chairman David Camp sent a letter stating his worry that specific conservative groups were being targeted.

Koskinen’s only defense to Jordan’s line of questioning was that Lerner did not explicitly state “wow I got rid of my earlier emails and now I need to check on this.” One thing which remains consistent throughout each of Koskinen’s hearings is that, because he has not been with the IRS for very long, he hasn’t been keyed in on anything or is purposefully being kept in the dark. It is clear that the more information which comes to light incriminating Lois Lerner and the Obama Administration, the less Koskinen seems to know, or care for that matter.

To make matters worse, it seems as though neither the Justice Department nor the FBI have spoken with anyone at the IRS about the lost Lerner emails – at all. “Has anyone at the Justice Department talked to you or anyone at the Internal Revenue Service about Lois Lerner’s lost emails?” Jordan asked Koskinen. “I have no idea whether the Justice Department has talked to anyone at the agency,” said Koskinen, who started his job last December. “They have not talked to me.” Not only is this terribly troubling, but it reinforces the need for an impartial special counsel to investigate this case. 

It is because of the tireless efforts of Congressman Jim Jordan that the facts continue to trickle out one by one. He has been trying to get to the bottom of this scandal, even as the Obama Administration puts up roadblock after roadblock. The wheels of justice turn slowly but grind exceedingly fine. I trust the American people will eventually find out exactly why the Obama Administration used the IRS to target conservative Americans.