Expect More Fireworks At Tonight's Prime-time Oversight Hearing on IRS Obstruction...

REMINDER: IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is Major Democratic Donor

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is in the spotlight as he is set to further testify to Congress regarding the IRS targeting of conservative groups. It is important to remember that Koskinen has shelled out nearly $100,000 to Democratic candidates and groups.

Had no idea the IRS pays so 'well'.

originally posted by: _Del_

originally posted by: kruphix
It is the classical example of a witch hunt...that is all this investigation is.

Can you explain to me how you have concluded there is no evidence at all of a coverup or anything suspicious while admitting you haven't really followed it? And why 26 Democratic Representatives in the House who have obviously looked at the issue in more detail than yourself voted for a Special Prosecutor to help the Republican "witch hunt"?

Where have I said I haven't followed it? I have followed the information, not the players.

If you think there has been evidence uncovered of wrong doing, please share it with everyone. You are probably the 10th person I have asked to do this...no one seems to be able to provide any. Now, if the committee has evidence they aren't releasing to the public, that is one thing...but they have been very forward with releasing any information that they think shows the IRS in a negative light.

I was in support of the initial investigation as well...things need to be investigated. But the goal of the investigation should be to find the truth, not to hunt for wrong doing.

This investigation has been through thousands of documents, emails, and testimony...and they have found no conspiracy of wrong doing, no policy coming from the top directing the targeting of any group, and absolutely no involvement from the white house (and yet that continues to be the basis of their questions).

They had an investigation, it turned up the truth...which is no wrong doing was found. At this point in the investigation, it is a witch hunt...it is the Republicans desperately wanting this to keep going because it is politically advantageous for them. They don't have to find guilt...they just have to convince their supporters (which apparently they have done a fine job of) that this is a conspiracy that goes directly to the White House...even though they have zero evidence of that being the case.

a reply to: kruphix

Why aren't those Democratic Representatives as satisfied with the investigation as you are, do you think?

originally posted by: _Del_
a reply to: kruphix

Why aren't those Democratic Representatives as satisfied with the investigation as you are, do you think?

How do you know they aren't?

a reply to: kruphix

Because they voted for a Special Prosecutor to investigate.

originally posted by: neo96
REMINDER: IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is Major Democratic Donor

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is in the spotlight as he is set to further testify to Congress regarding the IRS targeting of conservative groups. It is important to remember that Koskinen has shelled out nearly $100,000 to Democratic candidates and groups.

Had no idea the IRS pays so 'well'.

...Over the past 40 years...that works out to $2,500 a year...not that much.

And, he has only worked for the IRS for the past 6 months...so...where exactly are you going with this?

a reply to: kruphix

Let me translate that for you: "Of course it's not an admission of guilt....When you plead the 5th, it's and admission of guilt".

But Lois Lerner is in Contempt of Congress.

That is a crime.

............ Now the matter will be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The contempt charge will then be referred to a grand jury for further review, but it is unclear how the Justice Department will proceed. Politically, however, House Republicans will be able to declare victory after working swiftly in the last year to investigate the matter and hold a senior IRS official accountable for the agency's decision and her unwillingness to cooperate with a congressional investigation.

If ever convicted, Lerner could face between one and 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.

Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress

Obstruction of Justice is apparent also.

High ranking Administration officials refusing to testify ?

Absolutely a cover-up in progress.

originally posted by: _Del_
a reply to: kruphix

Because they voted for a Special Prosecutor to investigate.

Ok, they are free to have their own opinions.

Are you suggesting that since these democrats want a special prosecutor that means I must support them?

Not sure where you are going with this...democrats can be idiots too.

a reply to: xuenchen

But Lois Lerner is in Contempt of Congress.

That is a crime.

Awesome...so what does that prove?

a reply to: kruphix

No, I'm asking what motivation you ascribe to them to take part in a "witch hunt". You're disagreement with them is reasonably inferred by any reader. There is no possible explanation other than them being "idiots" in your mind?

I think we need to put together a list of questions for Paul Ryan and other members of Congress to ask Mr. Koskinen...

"You claim her hard drive crashed. But isn't mail accessed from the servers? Did *they* too crash? Did you not build redundancy into the system?"

"You claim you were able to retrieve Ms. Lerner's emails, but not those to folks outside the IRS. Aren't they processed and stored on the same servers? Were anyone else's emails to outsiders similarly "lost"? Were the losses random, or were they isolated to senders or recipients?

"Why did you cancel the backup/recovery contract with Sonasoft? Was another company in place to take over that activity at the time of the cancellation? Were the backups maintained by Sonasoft returned to the IRS or were they ordered destroyed?"

originally posted by: kruphix
a reply to: MarlinGrace

You must be an IRS employee, you post like they audit. Guilty until proven innocent.

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not.

And like I said before, with the IRS it is not guilty until proven innocent. It is, prove you were being truthful on your statement.

When you file your taxes and you sign them...you are making a declaration that everything you are submitting is truth and you have the proper documentation to back it up.

You are trying to compare apples to oranges.

And as I said I don't have to prove I am truthful, they have to prove I am not. You can't arrest me for a crime and keep me past 48hrs without charge. Once the charges are filed it is up to law enforcement to prove I did it, then the DA has to prove it in a court of law. Unlike our IRS that immediately fines you, garnishes you, and confiscates all without even a judges decision.

I will even tell you of a very good friend of mine who was a partner in a business with someone who didn't file his personal taxes then fled the country. The IRS froze my friends checking account to find out where this person was, and froze his mother's account until he told them. He didn't really know but the partner had talked about going to the philippines to get married with a mail order bride. They had been in business for 6 months.

So don't even tell me about the IRS I already know how unscrupulous they are, and for you to play the "innocent well I pay my taxes" routine is just plain BS. Do you think the fear they have instilled in the public is because the public collectively woke up one morning and said wow that IRS scares me? If I was to believe you then the checks in the mail and Obama has never said a lie.

a reply to: kruphix

Over the past 40 years...that works out to $2,500 a ye

I can tell you this

That '2,500' is like a million dollars for millions Americans right now without a pot to snip in.

a reply to: kruphix

quoted "should be to find the truth, not to hunt for wrong doing. " what if wrong doing is the truth??,,thats no way to hunt.

or achieve a goal.

originally posted by: _Del_
a reply to: kruphix

No, I'm asking what motivation you ascribe to them to take part in a "witch hunt". You're disagreement with them is reasonably inferred by any reader. There is no possible explanation other than them being "idiots" in your mind?

I would have to look into it, but I would guess it is political on their parts as well.

The Repubicans have turned this entire thing into a circus...just look at this thread and all the people who are assuming guilt with absolutely no evidence to back it up.

There is an election coming up, there is a lot of cover your butt going on. If these democrats are up for re-election, then they probably don't want this to be an issue in their campaigns. An easy way to avoid that is to just go along with it.

Or, it is possible that they honestly think something is going on...again, that is their own opinion.

But it doesn't prove anything like you are trying to suggest it does...it doesn't mean the investigation is not a witch hunt, it doesn't mean that there is guilt somewhere just waiting to be uncovered...it means absolutely nothing other than these people have personal reasons for wanting the investigation.

originally posted by: eriktheawful

originally posted by: kruphix
a reply to: MarlinGrace

And if it was that easy, there would be no need for tax attorneys. Now if I could just get the IRS to sign a document saying the tried really hard to save all those emails.

It is that easy if you don't try to cheat on your taxes.

If you do try to cheat on your taxes, then yes...you will probably need an attorney.

ROFLMAO!!!!

omg...hang on.....trying to get my breath here. Was laughing so hard.

Right....so those people that the IRS went after for debts that their PARENTS owed.........people who were also "paying their taxes" just like the good people should, and not cheating..........

Ah you're a trusting soul. Especially when you're the only one here really (and I do mean really) trying to defend the IRS.

I think we should go back to how the government ran things before 1913. NO IRS.

Who's with me? Say "Aye!"

"Aye!"

Does anyone else remember when it was just eighteen minutes of tape that was the rage?

I wish they'd turn off the AC at the hearings so we can watch them all sweaty and wiping their foreheads with hankies as they did back then.
That one cover-up downed a president.

Now the coverups are starting to look like a Chinese Takeaway menu.

originally posted by: TheCounselor
Does anyone else remember when it was just eighteen minutes of tape that was the rage?

I wish they'd turn off the AC at the hearings so we can watch them all sweaty and wiping their foreheads with hankies as they did back then.
That one cover-up downed a president.

Now the coverups are starting to look like a Chinese Takeaway menu.

LOL and a 4 page menu no less.

a reply to: kruphix

Is it not possible that the "personal reasons" are that they think the IRS has been less than forthcoming in their response and that there might be a conflict of interest due to the nature of the matter? Is that not what a Special Prosecutor is for? Or the only option is that almost one out of ten Democrats in the House suddenly dropped the party line to help legitimize an investigation that is pure theatre according to you?

More alarms that lead to Obama.....

Right after the famous Citizens United case.

The jilting jealousy was raging .........

Mad scrambling to stop the competition. November 2010 elections were coming fast.

Panic and reaction at all costs.

March 31 to April 1, 2010: Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)—the 150,000-member union that represents employees of the IRS and 30 other government agencies—visits President Obama at the White House. NTEU's Political Action Committee endorsed Obama in both 2008 and 2012, and gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles to anti-Tea Party candidates.

The day after Colleen Kelley's White House visit, IRS employees begin applying extra scrutiny to tax-exempt-status applications from conservative organizations whose names contain the words “Tea Party,” “Patriot,” “9-12,” “'Take Back the Country,” or “We the People.”


July 6, 2010: IRS official Holly Paz writes an email to Washington-based IRS lawyer Steven Grodnitzky “to let Cindy and Sharon know how we have been handling Tea Party applications in the last few months.” Grodnitzky replies to the email, confirming that the Washington-based Exempt Organization Technical unit (EOT) is designing the targeting in the nation’s capital.

“EOT is working the Tea party applications in coordination with Cincy. We are developing a few applications here in DC and providing copies of our development letters with the agent to use as examples in the development of their cases,” Grodnitzky writes. .................


THE IRS SCANDAL: TIMELINE