“I Don’t Think an Apology Is Owed”

Congressman Paul Ryan is annoyed.


There is not much to add to what Congressman Ryan said today. For those who didn’t watch today’s hearing, FoxNews has an accurate summary:

Koskinen set a defiant tone during his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, telling lawmakers he felt no need for the agency to apologize amid accusations of a cover-up in the targeting scandal of conservative groups.

Republican lawmakers had demanded the emails between ex-IRS official Lois Lerner and other government officials – including some at the White House – be turned over to determine whether there was a coordinated effort to stymie conservative groups prior to the 2012 elections.

“I don’t think an apology is owed,” Koskinen said. “We haven’t lost an email since the start of this investigation.”

How nice–no emails were lost since the start of this investigation. It’s a shame so many were lost two years before it began when former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman was lying misleading Congress about the IRS’s policies toward 501(c)(4) groups.

Of course, if I tried what the IRS is trying–the “my dog ate the receipts” excuse–I’d be laughed out of any audit or Tax Court. Well, possibly not in the future:

WASHINGTON — Taxpayers who do not produce documents for the Internal Revenue Service will be able to offer a variety of dubious excuses under legislation introduced by Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX 36) a week after the IRS offered an incredibly dubious excuse for its failure to turn documents over to House investigators.

“The United States was founded on the belief government is subservient and accountable to the people. Taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to follow laws the Obama administration refuses to follow themselves,” said Stockman. “Taxpayers should be allowed to offer the same flimsy, obviously made-up excuses the Obama administration uses.”

Under Stockman’s bill, “The Dog Ate My Tax Receipts Act,” taxpayers who do not provide documents requested by the IRS can claim one of the following reasons:

1. The dog ate my tax receipts
2. Convenient, unexplained, miscellaneous computer malfunction
3. Traded documents for five terrorists
4. Burned for warmth while lost in the Yukon
5. Left on table in Hillary’s Book Room
6. Received water damage in the trunk of Ted Kennedy’s car
7. Forgot in gun case sold to Mexican drug lords
8. Forced to recycle by municipal Green Czar
9. Was short on toilet paper while camping
10. At this point, what difference does it make?

Of course, this legislation is meant just to highlight the ridiculousness of the IRS’s position (and the Obama Administration’s position of calling the IRS scandal a conspiracy theory).

Part two of Koskinen refuses to apologize is Monday in front of Congressman Issa’s committee.

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