Ryan to IRS Commissioner: ‘I don’t believe you’ (Video)
“You are the Internal Revenue Service,” he said. “You can reach into the lives of hard-working taxpayers and with a phone call, an e-mail or a letter you can turn their lives upside down. You ask taxpayers to hand onto seven years of their personal tax information in case they are ever audited and you can’t keep six months worth of employee e-mails? And now that we are seeing this investigation, you don’t have the e-mails, hard drives crashed. You learned about this months ago. You just told us, and we had to ask you on Monday.”
This is not being forthcoming, he said.
“This is being misleading again,” Ryan said. “This is a pattern of abuse, a pattern of behavior that is not giving us any confidence that this agency is being impartial. I don’t believe you. This is incredible.”
Koskinen retorted he’d had a “long career” and never been told no one believed him.
“I don’t believe you,” Ryan said again.
Watch live: IRS Targeting Investigation on C-Span. And then tell me that IRS Commissioner John Koskinen isn’t a space alien.
Please, please, pleeeeeeease! Let’s play Louis and Marie-Antoinette.
Koskinen looks like an aged version of the powerful space alien, Balok, Clint Howard’s(Ron Howard’s brother) character in the episode “The Corbomite Maneuver” from the original Star Trek series.
http://www.geektress.com/images/trek/Balok2.jpg
While these hearings offer a certain level of political entertainment for junkies they never yield a single thing. These are just show hearings which makes them increasingly annoying to watch.
The Republicans have failed to produce a single substantative change in how the government operates despite one hearing after another, all filled with hours of huffing and puffing and theatrics.
Issa is probably the worst offender but there are plenty of others. If you are going to carry on like this, as for example Ryan did in this video clip, you need to produce results at the end of the day otherwise all you do is damage your party’s view in the eyes of the public.
Ryan is the right guy to grill Koskinen too because Koskinen screwed him out off a job promotion.
sorry, meant to say “party’s image”
Well obviously, Paul Ryan is (wait for it) racist.
Um, won’t the NSA have those emails?
Well BC, I would say showing that the IRS destroyed evidence is a big smoking nuclear crater. Of course in Proglalaland it makes perfect sense that all the emails of only the people involved over the timeframe specified got lost is legit.
They could find all the emails in less than a week. All of them as they are obviously stored in many places.
What Progzilla leaders are saying everywhere (including progholes like JT) is so insulting to anyone with an IQ over 15 that the liars should be facing ropes on trees.
I would pity the idiots who vote for them (Wynne voters take note) except that your foolishness will bring great harm to Canadian citizens, and for that I can’t forgive you.
Never ever let Progressives run anything.
Any and all willing Americans should stand in solidarity and absolutely not hand over any information or co-operate with the IRS. It might sting taxpayers, but how else does one fight back against criminal governments other than taking up arms.
Question for the FBI. In the 14.5 years since January 1, 2000, how many senior civil servants have lost years of emails and a hard drive?
Markon, yes I agree, never let a progressive run anything.
The point I was trying to make is simply that if in a public forum Ryan is going to accuse the IRS head of lying he has to have something to back that up. Otherwise its just speculation and the thrill wears off pretty quickly on the viewing public. The Republicans may score some points by pointing to incompetence in the government, but it is a short-term gain.
Issa is the master at doing this, stirring the pot relentlessly but in the end producing virtually nothing of substance. If Issa were working in a private company he would have been fired for his endless much-ado-about-nothing grandstanding.
I think what the IRS scandal and other similar scandals ultimately prove is not that there are minor cover ups, but that the government has grown far too large. This is not a made-in-the-USA problem either, we have the same problem in Canada. Even at the local level in the city where I live I am shocked to see how large the bureaucracy has grown, with its ever increasing appetite for more taxes. Our local municipal government (for a modestly sized city) has no less than *26* IT people working there. I know of multi-billion dollar companies in the private sector that have fewer than 26 IT people. I asked myself what hell 26 IT people would do at City Hall and I have failed to come up with an answer.
So the real problem is the size of government bureaucracy, not a missing hard drive, or some incompetent IRS official.
It is obvious this Koskinen fella is totally unaccustomed to having ANYBODY asking HIM questions….
How many Himlers like him infect US/Can Bureaucracy?
Now ya know where the barnburners got their door kicking orders from.
BC their assertions don’t pass the smell test and we are talking about the tax collector. It has the potential to rise above Congressional wrangling.
The IRS should be compelled to produce the emails or else. This fight could and should if necessary, carry on into the 14 mid term elections.
I have news for Mr. K
NO ONE believes him, it’s either ( or BOTH) incompetence of truly heroic scale. ( as in “you all are fired” , and by all I mean “the IRS”) Or it’s done on purpose , in which the correct assumption is both an illegal act, and what they covered up can be assumed to be even more illegal. ( see “you are all fired”)
AND
I still do not believe we cannot retrieve those emails.
I was amused the other day to see that the South Korean Coast Guard was recently disbanded (as a result of ferry sinking, which was traced to Bribery of the coasties), and it’s assets transferred to a new organization where if you wish to be hired for you have to re-apply.
The same thing should be done to the IRS and everyone even remotely connected to this would be black-balled ,and lose their pensions.
Bureaucrats hate losing their pensions, you’d see the survivors suddenly acting smarter.
“which a lot of IT professionals would question”
Just like the incredible story of ‘gas plant cancellations’ emails going missing. Honest to God, a lemonade stand would look after their data better than this. I work in IT, and if anyone in our org failed to protect data, it would undoubtedly , UNDOUBTEDLY, be a first-time firing offense for gross incompetence. And there is no way that one person could get to that point anyway– there are just too many checks and balances for this tale to be true.
What this guy is demonstrating is the Inveterate Revolting Service.
A cocksure bureaucrat who is confident that nothing can touch him; who has the power to make your life extremely difficult.
In short, the IRS commissioner really doesn’t give a damn about any of this and feels Mr Ryan needs the some flypaper and air freshener to cover the stench.
The proposition that the IRS can’t recover the emails, is a baldfaced lie built on a citadel of falsehoods.
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
The House can jail those it holds in contempt. So why aren’t they in jail?
The Normal Raid IT Server system is redundant and near bullet proof, a bad disk can be swapped out without a hiccup. Archive is simple & achieved by saving ONE disk from the Main & Backup Server.
I would ask the IRS if they ALSO have a “Stealth” E-mail system, that bypasses the normal redundancies, between agencies of the Obama administration. If it is secret, even from IT, it may not have any redundancy depending on PTP local storage.
Need IT experts to explain the Obama IT Architecture and if parts are illegal, like the J-List
JMHO
I’d like to punch that lying bastard right in the face. Koskinen is representative of what we have in government right here in Ontario. Liars and cheats. It make me want to puke.
Direct link to Gateway Pundit’s coverage of the revelation that the hard drive…(being defective and all)….was destroyed.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/06/audience-gasps-as-irs-commissioner-admits-missing-lois-lerner-hard-drive-was-trashed-video/
The IRS is basically saying f-you, you’re not getting them. They are too powerful and there is nothing congress can do about it.
He looked like he was on drugs to be honest. Definably of the reptilian branch of the space aliens.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pictures+of+reptilian+space+aliens&id=F5FC598CF57AC9B667E3349E586C17D725A1A4B2&FORM=IQFRBA#view=detail&id=14942D66E9375CED2E7507950D2ED46DACC422B7&selectedIndex=61
And the IRS knows they can get away with this because the know the national media has knee pads on for Obama and that Obama’s level of corruption makes Richard Nixon look like Mother Theresa.
Also, the IRS can get away with this because there are many citizens who agree with what they did.
If these e-mails aren’t produced for whatever reason, why not charge them with contempt or obstruction and clap irons on them? At least failure to secure government documents?
No so sure there are enough, at least yet.
Congressmen do not like to see themselves being lied to in public by a bureaucracy no one likes anyway.
The wheels of this grind slowly ( especially when, someone has their foot on the brake) but they do grind, and the IRS has it’s hand in the gears now.
I was saying the other day that Obama legacy is to make Bush Junior look statesmanlike and intelligent, but now he’s making Nixon look good.
Watching Koskinen I got icy chills and now I understand why. I’ve been watching the series Secret Army and he made me think of the SS character Kessler. I wouldn’t want to be an American.
See that smug bureaucrat just sit there smuggly?
He knows that he is untouchable. He even reminds me of Edward G. Robinson.
Obviously there is a lot of dishonesty going on in the IRS.
The destruction of Government Property, called F8-ing is not a trivial task in that it requires “multiple” Signature Approvals .. Even in private Corporations the F8-ing practice is complicated because it is a common avenue of Corruption & Theft.
(Hint for CBC)
The IRS is operating in the “best practice” mode of Organized Crime. Destroying evidence is a criminal act…Congress must demand a special prosecutor & if Holder refuses; Start impeachment hearing of Obama; which will be finalized after the November Election for a new Senate.. Crazy Joe is not as Corrupt, nor a threat in 2016…
While these hearings offer a certain level of political entertainment for junkies they never yield a single thing. These are just show hearings which makes them increasingly annoying to watch.
Dogs and ponies, nothing more, well, almost nothing. They did allow a handful of those targeted to tell their stories publicly, but since Dem media allies ignored the testimonies, the exposure of the public to the testimonies was minimal.
The Republicans have failed to produce a single substantative change in how the government operates
The Republicans are part of the federal govt and the federal govt is the problem. Why would they change anything? The IRS wasn’t attacking big Republican cronies. It was attacking an annoyance to the Republican Establishment, the Tea Party, at the behest of the Establishment’s fellow soiree attendee’s, Democrat politicians.
Issa is probably the worst offender
Don’t pick on Issa too much. He’s just playing his part in this farce. If the Republicans really wanted Issa to produce results, they would have put him in charge of a select committee a couple of years ago. As it stands, Issa hasn’t been given the authority needed to dig into the bowels of the IRS and start ripping out its intestines. Somewhere in the IRS there are low level employees who were forced to engage in actions which they knew to be illegal. It is highly probable that plea bargains can get them to cough up their superiors. Some of the more savvy low levels may even have secretly stashed incriminating emails and other damaging evidence as insurance.
If you are going to carry on like this, as for example Ryan did in this video clip
Ryan is an establishment tool who is still being groomed for the day when he will be foisted onto the Republican base as the latest “most conservative who can win” candidate who will lose to the latest weak Democrat candidate.
all you do is damage your party’s view[sic] in the eyes of the public.
I’m not sure how you mean this. The greatest damage being done in these hearings is to the image of the party in the eyes of their natural supporters. Loyal liberals won’t change their view of the Republican Party nor will the low info nor the disintersted. If this garbage continues as is, the Republican Party will keep watching the loyalty of its base slide. The RP seems determined to commit suicide.
Additional Comments: It would be unusual for the IRS to have paper work that the Drive was destroyed. An IT tech most likely has it stashed in his garage as Job Security, remember the blue dress!
Watching Ryan in the clip is like imbibing a 2 oz. sip of beer after a long afternoon of outdoor labor in hot weather. It provides a moment of delight which quickly fades and is soon forgotten. Will it create the accountability that prevents the IRS from waging war on the enemies of those in power? No. Will it compel the revelation of important information? No. Will it end the arrogance of those who perpetrated the behavior which is a real and present danger to representative govt in the U.S.? No. Will it even get Lois Lerner thrown in the hoosegow where she belongs? No. She’ll keep smugly enjoying her generous pension and laughing at the American citizens whom she helped abuse.
So, go ahead. Watch the video, throw your fist into the air and shout, “Yeah!” By next week, no one will remember it.
He only looks like a space alien because – and it took me a while to figure out why he looks so weird – he has no eyebrows.
there are just too many checks and balances for this tale to be true.
Posted by: nonaldehyde
The IRS is basically saying f-you, you’re not getting them. They are too powerful and there is nothing congress can do about it.
Posted by: JamesMO
And the IRS knows they can get away with this because the know the national media has knee pads on for Obama and that Obama’s level of corruption makes Richard Nixon look like Mother Theresa. Posted by: Fred
Also, the IRS can get away with this because there are many citizens who agree with what they did.
Posted by: MikeG81
The fact that the IRS can stonewall the committee with an absurd “dog ate my homework” excuse that nobody believes, clearly shows that they know they’re protected at the highest levels It also shows how high the corruption goes.
The inherently leftist MSM are clearly biased for a liberal progressive government. If this had happened during a GOP administration the MSM would be all over it and screaming for the president’s head.
the real problem is the size of government bureaucracy, not a missing hard drive, or some incompetent IRS official.
Posted by: BC
The senior bureaucracy believe they are the government while political figureheads and overseers come and go.
Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people:
First, there will be those who are devoted to the goals of the organization.
Secondly, there will be those dedicated to the organization itself.
The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It will write the rules, and control promotions within the organization.
Bureaucracies embody the Peter Principle. In a bureaucracy a person rises to their level of incompetence or above depending on their people skills; where they sit doing as little as possible so as not to endanger their fat pension.
This guy it too cool by far – he’s not the least impressed or concerned – therefore, I suspect he has been assured, no doubt by the WH, that if convicted of anything – there’s a presidential pardon sitting in a safe with his name on it.
“… If Issa were working in a private company he would have been fired for his endless much-ado-about-nothing grandstanding. …”
In a private company Issa wouldn’t be grandstanding in public hearings, he’d stroll into the liar’s office and fire him on the spot.
What would happen if someone went nuclear and arrested an IRS OAFicial with a CITIZENS ARREST?
‘Course He/She’d be exposed to incredible personal liability.
Take one for the team so to speak.
Just thinking…
They do…
As an aside, during a congressional inquiry into whether or not US POW’s had been left behind, an NSA employee testified before congress about intercepts he’d been privy to fifty years ago… during the sixties. The NSA was able to pick up and small talk between an NVA commander who had one of our airmen in hand and the people up the trail to whom he was sending his prisoner. They were using our equivalent of PRC25, which is a small unit comm device with a range of about 1.5 klicks.
Fifty years ago, the NSA picked up that conversation and recorded it, and you’d better believe they pick up and record everything you breathe, think or say on the Internet, on a phone, Twitter, Facebook, name your poison. It’s a vacuum that’s never turned off.
Adams and Hamilton were concerned about how a democracy would work if it did not have a devout and informed citizenry. Unfortunately, they did not provide us with a way to blunt the efforts of a mendacious Executive who is bent on destroying our nation.
Onward up the food chain.
IRS is lying.
Press on to Justice Dept, who will lie and twist.
On to the President,who will deny any knowledge of the behaviour of his minions.
Impeach the President.
Charge Attorney General, as oaths have consequences.
Imprison all bureaucrats who have lied under oath, no matter how small the omission.
Hang a few, jail a few and the rats will be discreet for another generation or two.
I believe it was Jefferson who told citizens of the conditions necessary for government.
A government that fears the people behaves.
A government that demeans all people, respects and fears no one.
That blood of the tyrants thing..
As all who have dealt with our Kleptocrats of late, tyrants be their aim.
As the citizens of Christchurch New Zealand have learned, nothing can mess your life up as a “Well meaning Grey”
Going on 4 years since their Big One they still do not have property rights or sanity.
Petty tyrants love regulation and order, never mind the people upon whom they feast.
“an annoyance to the Republican Establishment, the Tea Party, at the behest of the Establishment’s fellow soiree attendees – Democrat politicians…”
A classic case of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Both major parties are annoyed by the Tea Party.
Questions during the hearing were more political posturing than an effort to discover to what really happened. To quote Sun Tzu “All warfare is based on deception.”
“The House can jail those it holds in contempt. So why aren’t they in jail?”
No the Justice Department does that but then Holder has already been found in contempt.
Meaningless….Holder is not going to prosecute these IRS people anymore than he will prosecute himself or the Black Panthers…