In brutal new grilling, Rep. Trey Gowdy shreds IRS commissioner over agency’s shifting stories

July 23, 2014 by

Rep. Trey Gowdy wiped the smirk off IRS Commissioner John Koskinen’s face Wednesday during a scathing confrontation that marked the highlight of Koskinen’s third appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

collagetreygowdyjohnkoskinen0723At issue was Koskinen’s testimony before the committee in June in which he said he had “confirmed” that backup tapes of former IRS official Lois Lerner’s email had been recycled, making it impossible to recover emails the committee is seeking.

Lerner’s missing emails are a key part of the committee investigation that the IRS had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny.

On Monday, the panel released testimony from another IRS employee who indicated it is possible some information from Lerner’s computer might be retrievable from backup tapes after all.

The discrepancy enraged Gowdy.

Grilling Koskinen on Wednesday, the  South Carolina Republican and former federal prosecutor pounced.

Here’s a sample:

Gowdy:  “What does the word  ‘confirmed’ mean to you?”

Koskinen:  “It means that somebody went back and looked, and that all backup tapes had been recycled.”

Gowdy:  “Are you still ‘confirmed’ that no backup tapes exist?”

Koskinen:  “At this point I have no basis for not being ‘confirmed’. I do understand that the IG [Inspector General] were looking at tapes…”

Gowdy: “So are you still ‘confirmed’? …

Gowdy: “Mr. Koskinen … here’s a piece of advice I would give. If the folks like Lois Lerner and others would have spent more time working on the backlog [of tax exemption applications], more time working on their caseload and less time targeting groups and less time trying to overturn Supreme Court decisions they didn’t agree with, maybe morale would be better and maybe their backlogs would be lessened.”

Check out the video here. It’s brutal.

 

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Don Noel

Don Noel

A self-described "political enthusiast," Don Noel is a veteran of the local political scene with keen insights to share about the world of politics, government and nonprofits.
Don Noel

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  • Alan Branfman

    Dynamite!

    • jenniferlblackstock

      my Aunty
      Allison recently got a nice 6 month old Jaguar by working from a macbook.this website C­a­s­h­f­i­g­.­C­O­M­

    • Evermyrtle

      2016 Election:
      President Trey Gowdy
      V. President Ted Cruz

      • Josiah Peterson

        We don’t need lawyers or dual citizens in office anymore. Try finding better more electable candidates that those in middle can lean towards more than that benghazi lezbo witch or whatever atrocities the democrat party puts out there.. about 40% of population would vote democrat regardless, 33% vote republican regardless of candidate, leaving 27% that could go either way. The closer to center the republican nominee is the more likely they are to keep third-party candidate out of election along with getting increased chance of winning election. A dual citizen is not what we need for immigration reform issues coming. More lawyers suing states because they don’t like something is not good either. Get common sense in office and maybe the laws passed can make sense and be understood for a change.

        • jillocity

          all the “centrist” republicans are rinos…go along to get along (with filling the pockets)

        • Kyle Erickson

          Yeah that has worked out spectacularly, hasn’t it? The only real gains made were when conservative/libertarian-leaning candidates won two elections ago.

        • Bouncerquinn

          Actually that’s not entirely true. The more conservative appearing Republicans win, while the ones leaning to the middle lose. If we have more conservative Repubs running, that gives rise to a 3rd party candidate. A third party candidate usually siphons votes away from the Repubs!!

          • Rip Rogers

            I hope they do siphon, if TEA does not win then we are in the same boat GOP or DIM…

        • Rip Rogers

          WRONG!

  • Kenneth Clark

    That dogs a hunting… Got a scent and wont stop. Sick ’em, boy…

    • Doug

      He’s obviously taking a page from the super successful Issa.

      • scott edwards

        F Issa….biggest fraud on the hill

        • LesleeCCooper

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        • pc25

          The biggest fraud on the hill is Obama

          FTFY

      • 945call

        You must be kidding; Gowdy is a pro and has one of the sharpest minds in the Government!

        • Doug

          I was comparing him to another great Republican watchdog….Darrell Issa.

        • TheLibertine

          That he used the phrase “the royal we” gives me a warm and fuzzy — that’s Big Lebowski phrasing.

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    • Sparkle Plenty

      Rep. Gowdy is the best. Like a pit bull, clamps down and don’t let go. I think it’s because he knows he’s right and just in what he’s doing. All around awesome!

  • Goldcoaster

    nail this scum to the paddy wall.

  • releggneh

    Bam! you get em Trey. Love your spunk and dedication.

  • dotn

    I like that part at 1:49 where Trey teleports from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. I would too at that point.

    • SkepticalQuery

      I re-watched that a few times to figure out what was going on. If you look closely, the top of his head is still there, but the last raster line of pixels is duplicated from that point to the bottom of the frame. I know you’re not serious, but wanted to point out it’s a flaw in video, in case some naysayer decided the video was edited for content.

  • PatriotInk

    Thank GOD for the few in government like Trey Gowdy who have genuine servant’s hearts.

    As for “brutal?” There is no such sentiment as “brutal” when confronting a liar, deceiver, manipulator, and embezzler of public trust like Koskinen.

    Apparently, the requirements to work as an underboss in Obloody’s Crime family is to be a serial liar, deceiver, manipulator, embezzler of public trust, obstructionist, obfuscator, and more…

    • wsurfs

      They are all Obama the Evil’s “mini mes”…!!

  • jbizzle

    why dont all the republican committee members yield their time to rep Gowdy? he is far more effective than these babbling grandstanders asking meaningless questions. we need to go for the jugular!!

    • Larry Fries

      True words my man

  • jstanch

    Get em Trey! God bless you! We got your back, we’re HERE!

    • Sparkle Plenty

      I say a little prayer every night for this man and his family. God Bless them all!

  • charlesjharper

    my Aunty Allison recently got a nice 6 month old Jaguar by working from a macbook.this website C­a­s­h­f­i­g­.­C­O­M­

  • Pamela K. Cahoon Laub

    Nothing really disappears from any computer. Delete doesn’t completely remove it from a computer unless you have a special program. An expert can still find things. Gowdy is fearless!

    • Sunshine Kid

      Only if the drives are removed and physically destroyed will data be totally obliterated.

      • jillocity

        truth…but even then, the data resides on servers, and like the rest of us, the .gov ants don’t log on to the same server every time…they would have to destroy every server she might possibly ever have logged onto

        • Sunshine Kid

          Another truth. And why the IRS could not get all the info deleted.

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