Chaffetz Plays Damning Video Recap of IRS Targeting Scandal During House Hearing, Makes Case for Impeachment

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) made the case to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen during a Tuesday hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

C-SPAN

Before delivering his remarks, Chaffetz played a damaging video recap of the IRS targeting scandal, which explained how officials destroyed hard drives and back-up disks containing ex-IRS official Lois Lerner’s emails.

“This is really a simple case in my mind,” Chaffetz said. “When Congress asks you a question, you’re expected to give a truthful answer. When Congress issues a subpoena, compliance is not optional. Imagine if a taxpayer failed to comply with an IRS summons or subpoena — what would they do to you?”

The GOP lawmaker accused Koskinen of “actively misleading” Congress and failing to prevent evidence in the targeting scandal from being destroyed.

He also said the IRS commissioner failed to look in "five of the six" places Lerner's emails could have been recovered: "the back up tapes, her Blackberry, the server, the backup server and the loaner laptop."

Watch his remarks in full below:

Koskinen was invited to testify but claimed he didn't have enough time to "prepare or appear in person."

“The short notice provided has left me without sufficient time to to prepare or appear in person on Tuesday for what could be a wide-ranging and complex discussion regarding claims that may only become clear after the hearing’s first panel," he wrote in a letter to the Judiciary Committee.

This story has been updated.

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