Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said on Friday that the IRS lied to Congress and there was “ample evidence” the agency violated taxpayers’ constitutional rights in its alleged targeting of conservative organizations.
Camp, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, delivered his remarks in a hearing in which IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testified about the IRS allegedly scrutinizing the activities of conservative-leaning non-profit groups.
“As of today, the investigation into the IRS’s intentional, organized targeting of Americans for their beliefs has been ongoing for over a year,” Camp said. “What we have found so far is outrageous.”
The IRS spent more than three years trying to stop the political activities of conservative non-profit groups, Camp said, and subjected Americans to audits or leaked their personal information based on political beliefs.
The IRS recently said it lost more than two years of emails sent by former IRS official Lois Lerner and six others who were investigated for their alleged participation.
“We are missing a huge piece of the puzzle,” Camp said. “The years between 2009 and 2011 are the very peak of when the IRS organized and implemented its targeting scheme. How convenient for the IRS and the administration. I find it hard to believe, and I don’t believe that the IRS went through every possible exercise to recover these documents. We are missing the e-mails of seven IRS officials and during periods critical to this investigation. How is this possible?”
Camp said the time for “denials, delays” and attempts to obstruct the committee’s investigation were over.
“The American people have no reason to trust the IRS or, frankly, the administration on this issue,” Camp said. “To wait years to reveal the fact the IRS was targeting the American people, and then wait months to reveal that you are conveniently missing years of documents… well, it is no wonder I have heard the word ‘cover-up’ thrown about a lot this week.”