It's been a busy day at the IRS

[Adam]

So, first, they started the day off right, with a report from the Office of Special Counsel that the IRS has routinely violated the Hatch Act, everything from displaying Obama election bumper stickers and buttons right down to actually telling people on the phone that they should vote for Obama. Major no-nos.

Then, they rounded out the morning with Lois Lerner formally being charged by the Ways and Means Committee with abusing her office and perjury, among other things. As was quickly noted, the Committee referred this to Eric Holder, who is himself under a contempt charge from Congress and is overtly hostile toward Congressional oversight. So, it's going nowhere, right? Not so fast. The Committee won't rule out using their own power of arrest if Holder refuses to act.

After this bit of fun and frivolity, people started actually reading the filing with the DOJ, and among other things, learned that Lerner was apparently considering angling for a job with Obama's campaign organization. So buy this afternoon, this was breaking:

While it's possible that she was saying this in jest, but it's absolutely not something someone in a high government position should be talking about on a government e-mail account, even in jest.

And, to wrap up the afternoon, it broke that Elijah Cummings and Lois Lerner shared information on True The Vote, an utterly flagrant violation of a whole lot of laws. Furthermore, three days ago, Elijah Cummings vehemently denied that he had ever gotten any information on True The Vote, but this evidence is utterly damning, and the best that he could muster was calling getting caught "McCarthyism."


This is sounding more and more like Watergate by the minute. Well-past time for a Special Prosecutor.

[Gingersnap]

But no one will care. People were outraged by Watergate and I mean average people. It was such a betrayal of public trust.

Today, we expect our overlords to violate our rights, their office, and anything else they come in contact with. It the New Normal.

[Adam]

But no one will care. People were outraged by Watergate and I mean average people. It was such a betrayal of public trust.

Today, we expect our overlords to violate our rights, their office, and anything else they come in contact with. It the New Normal.

And that's why I say it's time for a Special Prosecutor. People sit up and take notice over that.

Impeachment of Obama is a non-starter for dozens of reasons, not the least of which is that no one can draw a straight line to Obama (besides impeachment being a really, REALLY bad fucking idea). If there's a straight line to Cummings, though, then the House would be wise to begin impeachment proceedings against him. That will certainly shake up things, should it come to that. My guess is that Cummings will negotiate for some bullshit reprimand, but it will mean collapsing him and maybe, maybe forcing Cummings to turn on Obama.

[Frostbit]

But no one will care. People were outraged by Watergate and I mean average people. It was such a betrayal of public trust.

Today, we expect our overlords to violate our rights, their office, and anything else they come in contact with. It the New Normal.

So depressing and so true.

[Norm dePlume]

Lerner was apparently considering angling for a job with Obama's campaign organization. So buy this afternoon, this was breaking:

She was angling for a job with his campaign organization in January, 2013?

[Adam]

She was angling for a job with his campaign organization in January, 2013?

Of course she was. Here's a great big hint: Obama's multi-billion-dollar campaign has never stopped, which is precisely why they "migrated" his campaign organization into a 501(c)4 organization. In short, they couldn't legally bus protesters into Obama campaign events any more, so instead they bused paid protesters into other Obama campaign events.

No, that's not a contradiction.



Someone let me know when the e-mails detailing how Lois Lerner was so incredibly worried about OFA's status as a 501(c)4 that she audited their records.

[scott]

She was angling for a job with his campaign organization in January, 2013?

Yes, angling for a job in what the campaign became, Organizing for Action.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/organizing-for-action_n_2501051.html

You didn't know this?

[Norm dePlume]

So, if she was thinking about maybe applying for a job at "Obama's campaign organization" after Obama has already been re-elected and can never run again, this is conspiratorial somehow?

[Adam]

So, if she was thinking about maybe applying for a job at "Obama's campaign organization" after Obama has already been re-elected and can never run again, this is conspiratorial somehow?

Who said it was conspiratorial?

[scott]

So, if she was thinking about maybe applying for a job at "Obama's campaign organization" after Obama has already been re-elected and can never run again, this is conspiratorial somehow?

It's not conspiratorial, it shows her partisan bias.

IRS employees are not supposed to be political operatives and any political activity on the job is prohibited.

http://www.osc.gov/documents/hatchact/ha_fed.pdf

Lobbying for a job in a political organization using the IRS computer system is prohibited.

[Norm dePlume]

It's not conspiratorial, it shows her partisan bias.

IRS employees are not supposed to be political operatives and any political activity on the job is prohibited.

http://www.osc.gov/documents/hatchact/ha_fed.pdf

Lobbying for a job in a political organization using the IRS computer system is prohibited.

And commenting to Sharon P. Light that "Maybe I can get the DC job!" is lobbying for a job? It sounds like she's just talking to a friend about her retirement plans.

[Adam]

And commenting to Sharon P. Light that "Maybe I can get the DC job!" is lobbying for a job? It sounds like she's just talking to a friend about her retirement plans.

On a government computer. Via a government e-mail account.

That's a big no-no, even if it's done in jest.


You people spent years shitting boulders about e-mails from the White House and how terrible it was if someone said ANYTHING not directly related to government business on a government e-mail account. You don't get to try to pretend that didn't happen now.



There's a lot more than a "smidgen" of corruption at the IRS.

[Norm dePlume]

On a government computer. Via a government e-mail account.

That's a big no-no, even if it's done in jest.


You people spent years shitting boulders about e-mails from the White House and how terrible it was if someone said ANYTHING not directly related to government business on a government e-mail account. You don't get to try to pretend that didn't happen now.



There's a lot more than a "smidgen" of corruption at the IRS.

I'm one person. Also, I haven't shit anything unusual. I remember some controversy about email in the Bush White House, but it wasn't about about personal business in government inboxes. It was about government officials doing government business on personal accounts. Not because they were wasting government electrons, but because official business was escaping the traceability and discoverability of government archives.

And I take it that's a very elaborate "no" on the question of "is it lobbying".

[Michele]

There's a lot more than a "smidgen" of corruption at the IRS.

It would be interesting to know what information, if any, changed his tune.

[scott]

And commenting to Sharon P. Light that "Maybe I can get the DC job!" is lobbying for a job? It sounds like she's just talking to a friend about her retirement plans.

I'm sure her underling was just trying to inform people in the interest of public knowledge about the change in structure of the campaign, but if it's political that is prohibited too.