click the pic
help keep the lights on
donate today!
Posted on 07/02/2014 11:26:32 AM PDT by smoothsailing
Today, House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) sent a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen asking if he wants to amend his earlier testimony about Lois Lerner.
Koskinen testified on June 23 that Lerner, a former IRS official at the center of the controversy over the tax agency’s targeting of conservative groups, followed terms of the Federal Records Act in her handling of public records and materials. When asked about emails that have been reported as lost when Lerner’s hard drive crashed in 2011, Koskinen stated, “The responsibility is, if you have an email that’s a record, you print it out in hard copy . . . She had hard copy records.”
However, Issa says, recent public statements made by Lerner’s attorney seem to conflict with Koskinen’s testimony. Politico quotes Lerner’s attorney, William Taylor III, as saying, “Lerner did not print out official records she may have sent over email because she didn’t know she had to.”
“Accordingly,” Issa writes in his letter to Koskinen, “I ask that you assist the Committee in reconciling apparent discrepancies between your claims that Ms. Lerner fully maintained records and statements by her attorney that she did not and that it was not her responsibility.”
Issa’s letter also asks the IRS to name all of the employees who were responsible for making sure Lerner complied with federal records laws, as well as any employees who may have printed her email records.
On June 24th, the National Archivist testified before the Oversight Committee that the IRS “did not follow the law” when it failed to report Lerner’s hard-drive crash.
Democrats accuse Republicans of pursuing Area-51-like conspiracy theories and President Obama has said there is not a “smidgen” of corruption involved in the IRS controversy.
When asked to testify, Lerner took the Fifth. The House of Representatives voted to hold her in contempt of Congress.
Koskinen’s Statements at Hearing Contradict Lerner’s Atty Statements on Federal Records Act Compliance
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., today offered Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen a chance to amend his June 23rd testimony that former IRS official Lois Lerner followed the Federal Records Act, after conflicting statements were made by Lerner’s attorney.
“Recent public statements from William W. Taylor III, the attorney representing former IRS official Lois Lerner, have raised new questions about Ms. Lerner’s Federal Records Act compliance practices and the circumstances surrounding the loss of e-mails and destruction of her hard drive,” Issa writes in a letter to Koskinen. “Accordingly, I ask that you assist the Committee in reconciling apparent discrepancies between your claims that Ms. Lerner fully maintained records and statements by her attorney that she did not and that it was not her responsibility. “
On June 23, 2013, Koskinen testified under oath at a Committee hearing that Ms. Lerner followed the Federal Records Act requirements by retaining hard-copies of her e-mail messages. When questioned about the missing e-mails that may have been lost when Lerner’s hard-drive crashed, Koskinen testified, “The responsibility is, if you have an email that’s a record, you print it out in hard copy . . . My understanding is every employee is supposed to print records . . . that are official records on hard copy and keep them. She had hard copy records.”
However, on June 30th, Lerner’s attorney, Taylor, told Politico that “Lerner did not print out official records she may have sent over email because she didn’t know she had to.” Lerner’s attorney also attempted to deflect responsibility for keeping the records by stating, “If somebody is supposed to keep archived copies, that’s the IT department’s or her staff’s responsibility.”
“In light of statements by Ms. Lerner’s attorney, including the statement that she did not believe she was ‘required’ to maintain a printed archive of federal record e-mails, as well as the record of correspondence between Ms. Lerner and the Justice Department that the IRS apparently did not maintain, the Committee would like to offer you the opportunity to amend your testimony that you have no idea ‘whether anything that was lost was an official record or not’ and acknowledge that Ms. Lerner did not follow policies necessary for Federal Records Act compliance that have obstructed the congressional investigation into the IRS’s targeting,” Issa writes. The letter also requests the IRS identify all employees responsible for Lerner’s compliance with federal records laws, as well as any employees who printed her email records.
At a June 24th hearing, the National Archivist testified that the IRS “did not follow the law” when it failed to report Lerner’s hard-drive crash.
You can read today’s letter to Koskinen here.
Tom Foley was in the House, speaker for a time, spoke about the investigation into whether Bush or Reagan had asked the Iranians NOT to release the hostages until after Carter was out of office.....he said basically, “no evidence” at all, so they had to investigate to find some...
click the pic
help keep the lights on
donate today!
Start jailing people until they tell the truth.
Koskinen: Uh well, I was just telling what a couple of guys in Cincinnati told me.
Area 51? Hmmm... The erswhile Majority leader of the Senate is from Nevada, and Area 51 is in Nevada. Is that a Freudian slip???
I would not put, “honorable” and, “Elijah Cummings” in the same sentence (see letter cc:), but I suppose you have to follow form...
The EXEMPT are in no rush.
THEIR families and their staff and their families
are protected.
They are EXEMPT - above all others, and outside of Law.
C’mon Issa, stop pussyfooting around and order the arrest of these criminals! The longer this thing is dragged out, the LESS likely jail time happens. Of course the administration knows this and that is why EVERYTHING GETS DRAGGED OUT. There’s still no closure on Fast & Furious and that is UNACCEPTABLE!!!!
,h3> Get SWORN Testimony !!
Then ...let the jailings begin !
You wouldn’t happen to know MiaT, would you?
BUT, Koskinen did not promise that Lerner printed out any emails that she did not print out.
Bttt.
5.56mm
Neither would I, that lying loudmouth is a disgrace.
I’d dearly like to see that IRS Commish Koskinen arrested just to see if it would wipe the arrogant smirk off his face.
Uh oh, the dreaded sternly worded letter!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
