Topic: John Koskinen

A federal appeals court has forced the IRS to release a list of 426 organizations that were unfairly targeted for extra scrutiny based on keywords like "Tea Party," "Patriot," and "Liberty." The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals criticized the IRS for "stonewalling" and making compliance with information requests nearly impossible for conservative groups. The hosts highlight this as a significant story of government overreach that has received minimal mainstream coverage.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is questioned in Congress about the recapture of ineligible healthcare subsidies. The hosts highlight his comment that the IRS follows the law "wherever we can," which they interpret as a cavalier admission that the agency operates with little regard for legal constraints.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is criticized for his "Mr. Cool" demeanor during congressional hearings regarding the missing emails. The hosts contrast the IRS's demand for perfect record-keeping from taxpayers (citing Wesley Snipes) with the agency's own failure to preserve records, noting similar "lost email" excuses used by the Bush and Clinton administrations.

Commissioner John Koskinen's interview with CNN is analyzed, specifically his claim that the IRS is "struggling" to move to an electronic system. The hosts dismiss this as a lie intended to downplay the agency's sophisticated archiving capabilities and protect it from Federal Records Act violations.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton apologized to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen during a congressional hearing, defending his reputation against Republican accusations. She characterized the investigation into missing emails as "conspiracy hunting" and praised Koskinen's history as a "turnaround artist" for government agencies. The hearing highlighted the deep partisan divide over the IRS targeting scandal and the "Lerner crash."

Senator Trey Gowdy confronted IRS Commissioner John Koskinen regarding the "spoliation of evidence" and the negative inferences juries are allowed to draw when records are destroyed. Gowdy criticized Koskinen for claiming there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing without having reviewed specific criminal statutes. The exchange emphasized the legal double standard between how the IRS treats taxpayers and how it manages its own records.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen faces intense questioning from Congressman Paul Ryan regarding the loss of two years of emails. The discussion highlights the technical implausibility of the hard drive failures and the existence of SonaSoft, the agency's email archiving contractor.

The IRS's claim that it lost years of Lois Lerner's emails due to a "computer glitch" is contrasted with the strict data retention requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. While private sector executives face up to 20 years in prison for failing to maintain email archives, the IRS Commissioner John Koskinen suggests that retrieving the subpoenaed documents would take years. The hosts argue that the government is exempting itself from the very transparency laws it imposes on corporations.