IRS Chief Wants His Rights Protected In House Impeachment Inquiry

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016 file photo, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. A last-minute deal between conservatives and GOP leaders in the House has av... FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016 file photo, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. A last-minute deal between conservatives and GOP leaders in the House has averted votes expected Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 on a measure to impeach John Koskinen, the commissioner of the IRS. Instead, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will testify before Congress next week. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) MORE LESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the IRS wants to be able to call witnesses, present evidence and enjoy other traditional protections if the House formally pursues an effort by conservatives to impeach him.

John Koskinen has agreed to testify under oath next Wednesday to the Republican-run House Judiciary Committee.

The panel wants to quiz the commissioner about conservatives’ claims that he should be impeached for thwarting congressional investigations into his agency’s tough scrutiny of tea party groups seeking tax exemptions. Koskinen has denied the charges.

In a letter to the committee Friday, Koskinen’s lawyers wrote that he should be allowed standard procedural protections if the committee later begins a formal impeachment inquiry.

They wrote that otherwise, the process “would be more akin to a foreign show trial.”

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. House to Commissioner Koskinen: This is a witch hunt not a trial. So sit back down in the dunking chair so we can get started.

  2. Avatar for tao tao says:

    Rights??? We don’t need no stinking rights!

  3. absolutely screws with GOP mouse brains

  4. More theater from the we-can’t-govern party.

  5. He should audit everyone of these goobers that think they are getting away with something here.
    Go back the full 7 years and demand everything.
    Then look into their campaign financing.

    Lets play hardball.

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