Last night, on the House Floor, I called for the impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Andrew Koskinen.This effort was initiated to hold the IRS Commissioner accountable for allowing documents to be destroyed and for providing misleading statement to Congress in the wake of IRS targeting of conservative organizations. I am a proud cosponsor of the resolution and I urging my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.
As it has become abundantly clear, Commissioner Koskinen has failed the American people by stonewalling congressional investigations into the IRS targeting scandal. Conservative organizations were intentionally targeted by our federal government simply because they believed and expressed a message that was in opposition to this Administration. While I disagree with many on the Left, I would never seek to threaten, by means of governmental coercion, to take away their freedom of speech.
Moreover, what is truly disturbing about the IRS scandal is that Chairman Koskinen has violated the public trust. As Commissioner, Mr. Koskinen failed to comply with a congressional subpoena, failed to ensure evidence was preserved, failed to testify truthfully, and failed to notify Congress when he learned thousands of emails were missing.
Our constituents expect Congress to exercise oversight of this Administration and to demand accountability. We know the IRS Commissioner cannot be trusted. Impeachment would help rectify the situation, and would go a long way towards showing the American people that we are serious about our constitutional duties.
Impeachment is the appropriate means to restore balance between our branches of government. The Framers included the impeachment mechanism in the Constitution for precisely this scenario, where an Executive Branch official who violated the public trust will not resign or otherwise be removed from office.
I have always liked Lamborn as he has always been solid and stood with his district even when the Republicans went the other way over the cliff. I doubt this will go anywhere, but the man isn't afraid to speak his mind. Just hope his tax returns are spotless.