Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz called for the immediate resignation of Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen Wednesday in his capacity as chairman of the House Oversight committee, in a censure resolution asking the president to remove Koskinen if he refuses to step down.
The formal condemnation also suggests Koskinen forfeit his government pension, alleging he has shown a “pattern of conduct inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as an Officer of the United States.”
Chaffetz cited a number of reasons he believes the commissioner should be impeached, alleging he misled the American people by providing “false and misleading information” during testimonies and failed to comply with congressional subpoenas asking for information critical to the investigation into the agency unjustly targeting right-leaning organizations for audits. The evidence was later destroyed.
“Censure affords Congress additional consequences to consider in identifying appropriate penalties for the Commissioner’s misdeeds,” Chaffetz said in a statement. “Mr. Koskinen must be held accountable for his misconduct. I am committed to using every tool at my disposal to hold Mr. Koskinen responsible for his offenses toward Congress and toward the American people.”
House Republicans announced Friday the Judiciary Committee will hold two impeachment hearings later this month due to his ties to the Lois Lerner scandal. Critics of Koskinen have been pushing for his impeachment since last fall.
“I view censure as a precursor to impeachment as it allows the House the opportunity to formally condemn Mr. Koskinen,” Chaffetz said.
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