Constitutional Scholars Oppose House Effort to Impeach IRS Commissioner

 

In a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, fifteen constitutional scholars opposed the effort in the House led by the Freedom Caucus to impeach Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen. 

According to the letter, “When it comes to impeachment, the Constitution leaves many open and difficult questions. Whether the alleged conduct of John Koskinen is impeachable is not one of them. There is simply no credible case for impeachment.” 

The letter from constitutional scholars stated: 

The matter has been investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Treasury Department’s Inspector General. Neither found any wrongdoing by Commissioner Koskinen. Each found that Koskinen had testified truthfully according to what he knew at the time of his testimony and that he corrected the record when he later discovered that his testimony had been inaccurate. Further, these investigations concluded that the erasure of back up tapes was accidental and was done by I.R.S. employees in West Virginia without the knowledge or involvement of Commissioner Koskinen. This record does not evince any conduct that threatens the sort of public harm that follows from treason or bribery. It does not include anything that might be characterized as a high crime or misdemeanor. It is not even close. 

The letter concluded: 

[I] t is clear that the articles of impeachment are completely lacking in substance and would serve no genuine purpose. This is not why the Framers included the impeachment mechanism in the Constitution.