[speechlesstx]

you know what a constitutional crisis is ? It's called the Legislative branch trying to enforce it's contempt charges without the support of the executive branch. With the exception of a small security detail that scrubs the Kennedy family alcohol and drug abuse ,the only person the House has for enforcement is the Sgt at Arms . Yeah it would work real well to have him march to the White House and attempt to detain and arrest anyone there .

What's he going to do, march into Holder's office and hold the ceremonial Mace up in front of him?

[excon]

Hello again, tom:

,the only person the House has for enforcement is the Sgt at Arms . Yeah it would work real well to have him march to the White House and attempt to detain and arrest anyone there .

More coverup for Issa??

Look.. You and I BOTH know how it works.. The Sgt at Arms doesn't put ANYBODY from the White House in jail.. If SHE doesn't snitch, he put's Lois Lerner in jail. Then he puts the NEXT IRS employee in jail.. Then he puts the NEXT one in.

IF there's a connection to the White House, SOMEBODY over there will snitch, and then somebody else will... Then all Issa has to do is sit back and wait for Obama to resign.

But, HE won't do it because he KNOWS there's NO there, there. YOU know it too. That's why you tell me you're afraid of a constitutional crisis, when I know damn well you're not.. Frankly, if it got RID of Obama, I think you'd WELCOME it. Instead, you cover for Issa.

Excon

[tomder55]

You and I both know that the so called inherent contempt power is, and pretty much has always been a dormant implied power. Anything further requires a criminal contempt charge ;and that requires the cooperation of the executive branch and possibly the judiciary .

[talaniman]

I doubt most republicans would go along with such a spectacle.

[speechlesstx]

I doubt most republicans would go along with such a spectacle.

Speaking of spectacles, the Dems on the oversight committee certainly put one on yesterday. And as Peggy Noonan says it's now no wonder why they wanted this scandal to just go away. The finger was squarely pointed not at the rogue Cincinnati employees that were thrown under the bus,but right at one of Obama's two political appointees at the IRS in DC.

The IRS scandal was connected this week not just to the Washington office—that had been established—but to the office of the chief counsel.

That is a bombshell—such a big one that it managed to emerge in spite of an unfocused, frequently off-point congressional hearing in which some members seemed to have accidentally woken up in the middle of a committee room, some seemed unaware of the implications of what their investigators had uncovered, one pretended that the investigation should end if IRS workers couldn't say the president had personally called and told them to harass his foes, and one seemed to be holding a filibuster on Pakistan.

Still, what landed was a bombshell. And Democrats know it. Which is why they are so desperate to make the investigation go away. They know, as Republicans do, that the chief counsel of the IRS is one of only two Obama political appointees in the entire agency.

To quickly review why the new information, which came most succinctly in a nine-page congressional letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, is big news:

IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division revenue agent Elizabeth Hofacre, left, and retired IRS tax law specialist Carter Hull testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

When the scandal broke two months ago, in May, IRS leadership in Washington claimed the harassment of tea-party and other conservative groups requesting tax-exempt status was confined to the Cincinnati office, where a few rogue workers bungled the application process. Lois Lerner, then the head of the exempt organizations unit in Washington, said "line people in Cincinnati" did work that was "not so fine." They asked questions that "weren't really necessary," she claimed, and operated without "the appropriate level of sensitivity." But the targeting was "not intentional." Ousted acting commissioner Steven Miller also put it off on "people in Cincinnati." They provided "horrible customer service."

House investigators soon talked to workers in the Cincinnati office, who said everything they did came from Washington. Elizabeth Hofacre, in charge of processing tea-party applications in Cincinnati, told investigators that her work was overseen and directed by a lawyer in the IRS Washington office named Carter Hull.

Now comes Mr. Hull's testimony. And like Ms. Hofacre, he pointed his finger upward. Mr. Hull—a 48-year IRS veteran and an expert on tax exemption law—told investigators that tea-party applications under his review were sent upstairs within the Washington office, at the direction of Lois Lerner.

In April 2010, Hull was assigned to scrutinize certain tea-party applications. He requested more information from the groups. After he received responses, he felt he knew enough to determine whether the applications should be approved or denied.

But his recommendations were not carried out.

Michael Seto, head of Mr. Hull's unit, also spoke to investigators. He told them Lois Lerner made an unusual decision: Tea-party applications would undergo additional scrutiny—a multilayered review.

Mr. Hull told House investigators that at some point in the winter of 2010-11, Ms. Lerner's senior adviser, whose name is withheld in the publicly released partial interview transcript, told him the applications would require further review:

Q: "Did [the senior adviser to Ms. Lerner] indicate to you whether she agreed with your recommendations?"

A: "She did not say whether she agreed or not. She said it should go to chief counsel."

Q: "The IRS chief counsel?"

A: "The IRS chief counsel."

The IRS chief counsel is named William Wilkins. And again, he is one of only two Obama political appointees in the IRS.

Let the misdirection begin.

[tomder55]

In Delaware ,they accessed Christine O'Donnell's tax records on the day she announced her candidacy for Senate ;and handed them over to local officials . That same day, the IRS put a tax lien in her name on a house she no longer owned, arguing that O'Donnell owed the government $12,000.She provided documentation to the IRS to clear up the issue a number of times ;and the IRS managed to "lose " the documents each time. The IRS later said it had made a mistake due to a "computer glitch. " Yeah right ! No IRS intimidation there ! O'Donnell's opponents cited the bogus lien as evidence that she was financially irresponsible.

Sen Grassley, the ranking Republic on the Judiciary committee is looking into this ,but as we know ,the Dems will do nothing about it . Rep Issa can only do so much . But this is now also a Delaware state issue . Dem Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware is a member of the Judiciary committee also ,and should press his colleagues to appoint a prosecutor for an independent investigation .


Get this... although this was a case involving O'Donnell ;she cannot access the details to protect the privacy of the person who violated hers.Grassley's office has reached out to the Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees for help since the chairmen of both panels have special authority to see private taxpayer information.
Bet that goes no where .

Yeah yeah... I know... I got nothing yawn... no smoking gun and no chance to find it because it's perfectly OK for the Dems to stonewall and obstruct. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration has found at least four cases in which a candidate's or donor's tax information was accessed improperly.In one case, the investigator said the violation was willful and referred it to the Holder Justice Department, which declined to pursue the case. Nope... nothin there.

[paraclete]

Proving the inefficiency of the IRS means nothing

[tomder55]

proving the inefficiency of the IRS means nothing

Not inefficiency... that's a given... we're talking criminal activity .

[paraclete]

Shrugg, it goes with the territory

[excon]

Hello again, tom:

not inefficiency... that's a given... we're talking criminal activity .

Yeah... The IRS sucks... When do the arrests start?

Yawwwwwn..

Excon

[paraclete]

You know ex they won't

[tomder55]

Hello again, tom:
Yeah... The IRS sucks... When do the arrests start?

Yawwwwwn..

excon

From my comment above :
Yeah yeah ..... I know ... I got nothing yawn... no smoking gun and no chance to find it because it's perfectly ok for the Dems to stonewall and obstruct. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration has found at least four cases in which a candidate’s or donor’s tax information was accessed improperly.In one case, the investigator said the violation was willful and referred it to the Holder Justice Department, which declined to pursue the case. Nope ...nothin there.

[excon]

Hello again, tom:

In one case, the investigator said the violation was willful and referred it to the Holder Justice Department, which declined to pursue the case.

As usual, you're carrying water for that schlump, Issa. Congress is NOT without power here. If they have evidence of corruption and a coverup, they can bring articles of impeachment, call the IG as their first witness, Lois Lerner as their second, and let the chips fall where they may...

Instead, they flap their gums..

YAAAWWWNNNN...

Excon

[speechlesstx]

Hello again, tom:As usual, you're carrying water for that schlump, Issa. Congress is NOT without power here. If they have evidence of corruption and a coverup, they can bring articles of impeachment, call the IG as their first witness, Lois Lerner as their second, and let the chips fall where they may...

Instead, they flap their gums..

YAAAWWWNNNN...

excon

You know the white house is not cooperating, they've already shielded Holder in one investigation and the dems on the committee are obstructing. Without cooperation this is heading for a special prosecutor which will get you safely past the election which is all you care about. The truth and our rights will be the casualties.

[excon]

Hello again, Steve:

You know the white house is not cooperating,

More water carrying for Issa. Show me where, in the Constitution, it says that congress needs the presidents PERMISSION before it performs its DUTY..

Look.. I'm a citizen like you are. If the IRS AND my president, are corrupt, I Want to KNOW about it. I WANT congress to DO ITS JOB!! In fact, YOU'RE the ones who dancing around and flapping your gums instead of INVESTIGATING!!

Excon

[speechlesstx]

They are investigating.

[speechlesstx]

The left's standard response on the 'phony' IRS scandal is something like "equal opportunity targeting" of both conservative and liberal groups. Your stats of the day via NPR. You do the math.

[tomder55]

And Louis Lerner was supplying the FEC with the confidential tax information of applicants .SO now this targeting scandal goes beyond one Federal Agency. Multiple agencies are involved.

[speechlesstx]

Look, something shiny!

[excon]

Hello again,

Yeah, there's shenanigans going on at the IRS, all right. They SUCK. Lois Lerner likes big ones. Be fine with me if you throw her in jail along with the rest of 'em.

But, I'm waiting for a connection to the White House... Then, and ONLY then will it be a scandal.. Right now it's just right wingers flapping their gums about bad government. Guess they never ran into that before...

Do YOU ever wonder where those pallets of cash are?

Yawwwwwn.

excon