IRS Press Releases

Opening Statement – Chairman Jason ChaffetzFebruary 26, 2015 “IRS: TIGTA Update” [AS PREPARED] The Internal Revenue Service.  The IRS Perhaps no other agency, no other institution in our government causes more

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., today released a new staff report, “The Internal Revenue Service’s Targeting of Conservative Tax-Exempt Applicants: Report of Findings for the 113th Congress.” The report represents findings from the review of over 1.3 million pages of documents and 52 transcribed interviews with IRS, Treasury, and Justice Department employees.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said: “We have stopped an IRS targeting effort that treated conservatives differently and we have put the brakes on a new Administration effort to target political participation through regulation. But we have not fixed the IRS or finished our investigation of targeting that started under Lois Lerner. This IRS, this Treasury Department, and this White House have not given Congress the cooperation they promised – ...

"The American people deserve the opportunity to hear Lois Lerner’s testimony under oath,” said Chairman Issa. “If Lerner had nothing to hide and did nothing wrong in the IRS targeting scandal, she would have chosen to answer basic questions about her conduct instead of obstructing Congress’ investigation. Her decision to make unsubstantiated claims to a media outlet while claiming Fifth Amendment protections from answering Congress’ questions is telling. She appears to have great ...

“Even as the Congressional investigation of IRS targeting continues, we have already evidence of abuses that necessitate reform. Congressman Tim Walberg’s bill, the SES Accountability Act, cracks down on abuses such as the practice of giving officials being fired for misconduct an extended vacation on paid administrative leave. Under Congressman Walberg’s proposal, senior leaders like IRS targeting figure Lois Lerner, would be required to repay taxpayers for salary received while on ...

“The so-called ‘most transparent administration in history’ has given Congress inconsistent information since the beginning of the targeting scandal,” said Chairman Issa. “First, the Administration denied that targeting was occurring, and then ‘rogue agents’ in a field office were blamed for the misconduct. Today, months into the congressional investigation, we’re still getting conflicting information. This time, it’s on the number of individuals who experienced email losses. ...

“This new information about additional conflicts of interest within the Justice Department shows that almost every facet of the Department with an interest in the IRS targeting investigation is compromised,” the Chairmen wrote in the letter. “From the Civil Rights Division to the Public Integrity Section and the FBI, from the Tax Division to the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Justice Department has serious and wide-ranging conflicts of interest in its handling of the IRS targeting ...

“As the Committee continues its comprehensive investigation into IRS targeting of Americans for their political beliefs, both immediate and long-term reforms are needed to prevent such targeting from ever happening again. We must make structural changes to improve internal oversight and get politics out of the IRS. The current imbalance of IRS power over taxpayers must cede to a system that recognizes and protects the rights of taxpayers.”

“The Committee has obtained information that senior IRS leadership knew in February 2014 that e-mails on Ms. Lerner’s hard drive were unrecoverable,” Issa and Jordan write in today’s letter. “The IRS’s failure to disclose in a timely manner that it had destroyed evidence critical to congressional and criminal investigations is further reason that a special prosecutor is needed to thoroughly and independently investigate all facets of the IRS targeting.”

“I’m struck by the fact that the IRS attempted to keep a key witness like Mr. Kane away from investigators and only agreed to his appearance after I issued a subpoena for his testimony. Finding out that IRS Commissioner Koskinen jumped the gun in reporting to Congress that the IRS ‘confirmed’ all back-up tapes had been destroyed makes me even more suspicious of why he waited months to inform Congress about lost Lois Lerner e-mails. Commissioner Koskinen has repeatedly blamed the ...