One of the authors of impeachment articles against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Thursday that he could move to hold a House floor vote on the issue next week, scuppering an agreement among House Republicans to postpone the potentially divisive action.
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Republican leaders had balked at impeachment but faced with the prospect of losing an embarrassing vote Thursday, they agreed to hold hearings, giving Mr. Koskinen a chance to make his case – under oath – for why he should keep his job. He has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers wrote in a September 8 letter to Judiciary Committee leaders that he would be willing to appear before the panel and answer questions under oath.
The Judiciary Committee said Wednesday night that it would hold a hearing on September 21 to examine the allegations against Koskinen, who will appear as a witness.
The caucus declared victory in a statement late Wednesday, saying the hearing would “give every American the opportunity to hear John Koskinen answer under oath why he misled Congress, allowed evidence pertinent to an investigation to be destroyed, and defied Congressional subpoenas and preservation orders”.
Nevertheless, he cut a deal that gets rid of the vote on the so-called “privileged” impeachment resolution that was set to take place Thursday.
“We will wait one more week to have a hearing”, Huelskamp said.
However, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., told Bloomberg that he was not aware of any pact to put off the vote until November. But the members pushing for a vote could still force it to happen earlier.
Still, the timing has been especially convenient for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
Koskinen has been under fire for the IRS targeting certain conservative groups that were seeking tax exempt status, and some Republicans claim he obstructed their investigation into the scandal.
“As long as there is a vote to impeach John Koskinen on the floor of the House before Congress takes another month long vacation, then let’s have the hearing”, Martin said. By that time, the backup tapes of those emails were destroyed.
Never before, Koskinen’s lawyers argued in the September 8 letter, have impeachment articles been pursued outside of a committee process where the target of the impeachment is allowed to present evidence and give testimony in his or her defense.
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Fleming tweeted Thursday night that he’s happy his resolution is leading to a formal impeachmet hearing of Koskinen, indicating he is ok with delaying the vote.
