IRS Commissioner Koskinen Appears at his Impeachment Hearing

Posted on September 22, 2016

On September 21, 2016, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen appeared at his impeachment hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Koskinen testified for almost three and one-half hours before a full audience that included most of the Judiciary Committee Democrats and nearly all of the Judiciary Committee Republicans. Republican committee members have accused Commissioner Koskinen of ignoring or obstructing subpoenas seeking evidence in the tea party controversy. Koskenin regretted not preserving all of the information requested by Congress during the tax exempt investigations and admitted that some of his earlier sworn testimony was mistaken. As to his threat of impeachment, Koskinen stated “I believe impeachment would be improper, it would create disincentives for many good people to serve, and it would slow the pace of reform and progress at the IRS.” The session was ended without clarification as to whether it was an informational session or whether it was preliminary to a vote on impeachment.