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Chaffetz asks Congress to impeach IRS chief

Posted at 8:55 PM, May 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-24 23:04:20-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Rep. Jason Chaffetz sat at the witness table in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to make a case for impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen over an alleged cover-up.

The issue stems from the run up to the election of 2014, when Congressional Republicans say the IRS unfairly targeted conservatives for audits. Koskinen was not in charge of the IRS at the time, but Chaffetz said he misled congress afterwards.

“The question is, did they destroy documents that were subpoenaed? The answer is yes. Did they provide false and misleading testimony to congress? Yes, and on more than one occasion,” Chaffetz told the committee.

Koskinen turned down an invitation to testify at the hearing, but told the Committee he would appear before them if they gave him enough time to prepare.

Impeachment is a constitutional mechanism by which congress can remove any member of the executive or judicial branches of government.