Congress Delays Vote on Impeaching IRS Commissioner Koskinen

It looks like the presidential and congressional elections will be decided before the House gets a chance to decide on IRS Commissioner John Koskinen’s impeachment.

Koskinen is on the hot seat for his alleged role in helping to hide a “smoking gun” in the ongoing saga of the Tea Party scandal. Back in 2012, IRS staffers applied extra- rigorous scrutiny to the tax-exempt applications of conservative-leaning groups. After years of fingers being pointed across both sides of the aisle, and mudslinging in congressional committees investigating the matter, it was revealed that the IRS had destroyed vital backup data, including emails sent by Lois Lerner, head of the IRS Tax-Exempt division at the time of the transgressions. House Republicans have accused Koskinen of being responsible for the data destruction and orchestrating a cover-up.

Several Republicans in the House, led by Representatives John Fleming (R-LA) and Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), members of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, filed a special motion in July to impeach Koskinen. Without any further action, an impeachment vote could have been called at any time. However, after Koskinen personally met with two groups of influential Republicans last week, House GOP leaders huddled behind closed doors to resolve the issue without a floor fight.

Instead of calling for an impeachment vote, which could distract both politicians and the voting public, the Republicans agreed that the House Judiciary Committee should hold a hearing to determine the next move, if any. The IRS Commissioner is expected to testify before the committee sometime during around September 21.

This eleventh-hour deal seems to have bridged the divide between the hardliners and their detractors in the GOP. A quick-strike impeachment was widely viewed as a long shot and fence-sitters have insisted that Koskinen deserves a full-length probe. Nevertheless, the Freedom Caucus has trumpeted the deal as a triumph for its efforts.

“This hearing will give every American the opportunity to hear John Koskinen answer under oath why he misled Congress, allowed evidence pertinent to an investigation to be destroyed, and defied Congressional subpoenas and preservation orders,” representatives said in a prepared statement. “It will also remove any lingering excuses for those who have been hesitant to proceed with this course of action.”

The agreement also makes it highly unlikely that any vote by the full House to impeach Koskinen will occur before the ballots in November have been cast. The next administration that will take shape in Washington may have to more to say about Koskinen’s fate.