Washington, DC – Tea Party Patriots CEO and co-founder Jenny Beth Martin released the following statement today reacting to news of a deal on Capitol Hill that would delay a vote on impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. 

“It has been six years since the targeting started. We who were targeted never received due process during the targeting. To date, there still has not been any accountability for the actions taken against 426 groups across the country representing millions of Americans, not to mention the countless people who were individually targeted.  (NOTE: remember, Congress learned from investigations that tea party donors were ten times more likely to be individually audited.)

“Six. Years.

“The time for accountability is long overdue.

“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.

“Are Congressmen really willing to go home and say they sided with the IRS over the American taxpayer? That they sided with the IRS over their constituents?

“Do Congressmen really want to set a precedent where agencies can mislead – aka lie to – Congress and destroy evidence with no consequences?

“Do Democrat Congressmen really want to set a precedent where a Republican administration can do this to a group of people who support their policies in the future?

“Does Congress – regardless of political party – really have no intention whatsoever of exercising its authority and responsibility under the Constitution to remedy a breach of public trust, which is how the Founders intended impeachment to be used?

“When he was appointed, we were told Mr. Koskinen’s job would be to restore confidence in the Internal Revenue Service. Instead, he allowed evidence to be destroyed under his watch and then lied to Congress about said evidence. Because of his actions, we will never know the full extent of the details leading to the targeting, a necessary prerequisite to prevent it from happening again.  

“The public trust in the IRS has been utterly shattered – destroyed.

“There is only one appropriate remedy:  IRS Commissioner John Koskinen must be impeached. This impeachment is a necessary first step in rebuilding that trust so we all know public servants cannot treat the public in such a way ever again.”

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