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Irs Obstruction: Lois Lerner’S Missing Emails

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Irs Obstruction: Lois Lerner’S Missing Emails IRS OBSTRUCTION: LOIS LERNER’S MISSING EMAILS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 23, 2014 Serial No. 113–129 Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov http://www.house.gov/reform VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:15 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6011 Sfmt 6011 C:\DOCS\89598.TXT APRIL IRS OBSTRUCTION: LOIS LERNER’S MISSING EMAILS VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:15 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6019 Sfmt 6019 C:\DOCS\89598.TXT APRIL IRS OBSTRUCTION: LOIS LERNER’S MISSING EMAILS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 23, 2014 Serial No. 113–129 Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov http://www.house.gov/reform U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 89–598 PDF WASHINGTON : 2014 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:15 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 C:\DOCS\89598.TXT APRIL COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM DARRELL E. ISSA, California, Chairman JOHN L. MICA, Florida ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland, Ranking MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio Minority Member JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of JIM JORDAN, Ohio Columbia JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts TIM WALBERG, Michigan WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts JUSTIN AMASH, Michigan JIM COOPER, Tennessee PAUL A. GOSAR, Arizona GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania JACKIE SPEIER, California SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee MATTHEW A. CARTWRIGHT, Pennsylvania TREY GOWDY, South Carolina TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois DOC HASTINGS, Washington DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming PETER WELCH, Vermont ROB WOODALL, Georgia TONY CARDENAS, California THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky STEVEN A. HORSFORD, Nevada DOUG COLLINS, Georgia MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM, New Mexico MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina Vacancy KERRY L. BENTIVOLIO, Michigan RON DESANTIS, Florida LAWRENCE J. BRADY, Staff Director JOHN D. CUADERES, Deputy Staff Director STEPHEN CASTOR, General Counsel LINDA A. GOOD, Chief Clerk DAVID RAPALLO, Minority Staff Director (II) VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:15 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\DOCS\89598.TXT APRIL C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on June 23, 2014 ............................................................................... 1 WITNESSES The Hon. John Koskinen, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 9 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 12 APPENDIX Opening Statement by Chairman Issa ................................................................... 90 Lerner emails submitted by Rep. Cummings ........................................................ 95 Opening Statement of Rep. Cummings .................................................................. 98 Opening Statement of Rep. Connolly ..................................................................... 100 HR 1234 submitted by Chairman Issa .................................................................. 103 April 7, 2014, Majority Staff Report ‘‘Debunking the Myth that the IRS Targeted Progressives,’’ submitted by Chairman Issa ...................................... 116 July 4, 2013, NYT article submitted by Rep. Connolly ........................................ 163 June 20, 2014 Reason Magazine ‘‘The IRS Had a Contract With an Email Backup Company,’’ submitted by Rep. Mica ...................................................... 167 Supplemental IRS Statement regarding the Contractor’s software application 169 Democratic Staff Report ‘‘No Evidence of White House Involvement or Polit- ical Motivation in IRS Screening of Tax-Exempt Applicants,’’ submitted by Rep. Cummings ............................................................................................... 172 Majority Staff Report ‘‘How Politics Led the IRS to Target Conservative Tax-Exempt Applicants for their Political Beliefs ............................................. 240 June 3, 2011, Letter from Ways and Means Chairman Camp to IRS Doug Shulman, submitted by Rep. Speier ................................................................... 317 June 2008 GAO Report ‘‘National Archives and Selected Agencies Need to Strengthen E-Mail Management, submitted by Rep. Duckworth .................... 320 Chicago Tribune Op-ed ‘‘More Smoke at the IRS-and not only from the hard drives,’’ submitted by Rep. Chaffetz ................................................................... 322 June 18, 2014, letter from the White House to Reps. Camp and Wyden, submitted by Rep. Horsford ................................................................................ 323 Feb 4, 2014, Washington Post article ‘‘IRS Reinstates employee bonuses, ending sequester-related hold on awards, submitted by Chairman Issa ........ 324 IRS Policy book submitted by Rep. Meadows ........................................................ 326 June 17, 2014, letter from the National Archives to IRS submitted by Rep. Meadows ............................................................................................................... 333 Andrew Jackson’s Petition for Relief of the Whisky Tax, Feb. 12, 1803, from National Archives, submitted by Chairman Issa .............................................. 335 (III) VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:15 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\DOCS\89598.TXT APRIL VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:15 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\DOCS\89598.TXT APRIL IRS OBSTRUCTION: LOIS LERNER’S MISSING EMAILS Monday, June 23, 2014 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, WASHINGTON, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 7:16 p.m., in Room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Darrell E. Issa [chairman of the committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Issa, Mica, Turner, Duncan, McHenry, Jordan, Chaffetz, Walberg, Amash, Gosar, DesJarlais, Gowdy, Farenthold, Hastings, Lummis, Woodall, Massie, Collins, Meadows, Bentivolio, DeSantis, Cummings, Norton, Tierney, Lynch, Connolly, Speier, Duckworth, Kelly, and Horsford. Staff Present: Melissa Beaumont, Assistant Clerk; Molly Boyl, Deputy General Counsel and Parliamentarian; Lawrence J. Brady, Staff Director; David Brewer, Senior Counsel; Caitlin Carroll, Press Secretary; Sharon Casey, Senior Assistant Clerk; Steve Castor, General Counsel; Drew Colliatie, Professional Staff Member; John Cuaderes, Deputy Staff Director; Adam P. Fromm, Director of Member Services and Committee Operations; Linda Good, Chief Clerk; Tyler Grimm, Senior Professional Staff Member; Frederick Hill, Deputy Staff Director for Communications and Strategy; Christopher Hixon, Chief Counsel for Oversight; Jen Jett, Staff As- sistant; Michael R. Kiko, Legislative Assistant; Mark D. Marin, Deputy Staff Director for Oversight; Ashok M. Pinto, Chief Coun- sel, Investigations; Jeffrey Post, Senior Professional Staff Member; Laura L. Rush, Deputy Chief Clerk; Jessica Seale, Digital Director; Andrew Shult, Deputy Digital Director; Jonathan J. Skladany, Deputy General Counsel; Katy Summerlin, Press Assistant; Peter Warren, Legislative Policy Director; Rebecca Watkins, Communica- tions Director; Aryele Bradford, Minority Press Secretary; Susanne Sachsman Grooms, Minority Deputy Staff Director/Chief Counsel; Jennifer Hoffman, Minority Communications Director; Elisa La- Nier, Minority Director of Operations; Valerie Shen, Minority Counsel; Donald Sherman, Minority Chief Oversight Counsel; and Katie Teleky, Minority Staff Assistant. Chairman ISSA. The committee will come to order. The Oversight Committee exists to secure two fundamental prin- ciples: First, Americans have a right to know that the money Washington, through the IRS, takes from them is well-spent; and, second, Americans deserve an efficient, effective government that works for them. Our duty on the Oversight and Government Re- form Committee is, in fact, to protect these rights. (1) VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:15 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\89598.TXT APRIL 2 Our solemn responsibility is to hold government accountable to taxpayers, because taxpayers have a right to know what they get from their government. Our job is to work tirelessly, in partnership with citizen watchdogs, to deliver the facts to the American people and bring genuine reform to the Federal bureaucracy. Would you go ahead—hold on. I’ll do it this way. Thank you. That’s what I was looking for. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. Without objection, so ordered. The committee meets today as we continue our effort to get the truth and the full truth on the obstruction by the IRS and the tar- geting of Americans because of
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