This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," March 26, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: A fiery hearing on Capitol Hill today. The house grilling the IRS commissioner about the slow process of handing over subpoena documents, including e-mails from former IRS official Lois Lerner. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
REP. TREY GROWDY, R-S.C.: Because she said I've done nothing wrong, I've broken no IRS rules or regulations, and I have broken no laws. That is pretty broad, Mr. Commissioner.
REP.DARRELL ISSA, R-CALIF.: It's clear that individuals acted on their politics and we now have some, but only some of the e-mails to prove it.
GROWDY: When you have people in positions of authority and responsibility that are expressing overtly political commentary on government e-mail, I think we ought to be entitled to all of them and that's why we asked for it.
REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OHIO: When we say all, we want every single e-mail in the time period in the subpoena that was sent to you. Plain and simple.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
KELLY: Republican Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is a member of the House Oversight Committee, you saw him there. Congressman, good to see you. So, the IRS commissioner responded saying the amount of time it will take to look through and redact the private information from the documents you want could last years. And certainly beyond the next election.
JORDAN: Megyn, good to be with you, too. Here's the issue. Lois Lerner won't talk to us, John Koskinen, the new IRS commissioner, won't give us the e-mails, even though we asked for them a year ago. We sent a subpoena six months ago, we sent a second subpoena last month. He still says we're working on it, we're trying, we'll get there some day, maybe. We want every -- as we said in the committee, what part of all don't you understand?
Now, think about this. When this story broke a year ago, you know the IRS was combing through every piece of correspondence Lois Lerner ever sent. It's not like they haven't looked at this stuff, it's been almost a year. Give us the information -- again, how are the American people going to get to the truth? How are we going to find out what really happened here if Lois Lerner -- it's interesting, she'll talk to the Justice Department, the people that can actually put her in jail, she won't talk to us. She'll talk to the Justice Department because that investigation is a sham but she won't talk to us. And now we came to get her e-mails. How are we supposed to get to the truth?
KELLY: But here's what he seems to be saying today. He said, look, we have devoted 250 employees and millions of doctors to six separate investigations, we produced hundreds of thousands of pages of documents so far and we at the IRS have to get down to managing, you know, the business of the IRS and can't devote all of our time to redacting these e-mails and sending them to you.
JORDAN: Megyn, there are 2,400 employees in the chief counsel's office, the lawyer's office at the IRS. Put some of these lawyers on these full -- full time. After all, think about this, even the Democrats -- some Democrats admitted to this, this is about first amendment rights to political speech. Free speech rights. This doesn't -- this is as basic and fundamental, as important of paramount importance as anything in the country, so put some lawyers on this. Work round the clock and get us the information so more importantly, we can get the information and the truth to the American people. That's what's at stake here.
KELLY: What's gonna happen now? Already the Congress -- your committee has threatened to hold Lois Lerner in contempt for not testifying and not producing documents. Now, there was a suggestion by Chairman Issa, that Koskinen may be held the IRS commissioner may be held in contempt if he does not comply. Can't you say, oh, get it in several years. So, do you think it's likely that the committee would move forward with contempt -- a push for contempt for other one of those?
JORDAN: Yes. Lois Lerner should be held in contempt. I believe we will move there and if John Koskinen as he testified today under oath in front of the committee, if he takes two to three years to get us Lois Lerner's e-mails, he should be held in contempt, too. That is just unbelievable that he would say it's going to take that long when we asked for these documents in May of last year. We subpoenaed them in August and sent a second subpoena last month.
KELLY: It's the same old thing. When the IRS wants documents from the average citizen, and you can't turn around and say it's going to take me several years, I'm very busy, you've asked for quite a lot. Congressman Jordan, good to see you.
JORDAN: Good to be with you, Megyn.
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