IRS commissioner a no-show at hearing on his impeachment

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IRS commissioner a no-show at hearing on his impeachment

IRS says Koskinen didn't have time to prepare; reaction from Rep. Jim Jordan

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," May 24, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: To add fuel to this waiting fire, because there is a theme here, if you connect the dots, the arrogance on the part of those who head these huge bureaucracies to thumb their noses and, well, pick a digit, to anyone who is telling them be accountable, be answerable.

The IRS commissioner today, John Koskinen, skipped out. He was a no-show at a hearing that was going to be lead to his possible impeachment, but, more importantly, to find out what the heck is going on with the targeting of conservatives.

Now, whether you are conservative or liberal, he has promised over the years, years, to address this with a report, an examination, a study.  Nothing.

You can understand why Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, he's furious.

He didn't even show up, Congressman.

REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OHIO: No. And if you had the track record he did, I don't think I would have shown up either.

When you allow backup tapes to be destroyed, 422 backup tapes that are under subpoena, and then you wait four months to tell Congress, and then you come tell Congress, you don't tell the full story, and then you don't correct the record after you have said something false, with that track record, I don't think I would have shown up either.

But it goes to your point, Neil, the arrogance of folks in power and the double standard that exists, because no American taxpayer could get away with this if they were being audited or investigated by the IRS.

And they allowed documents that were under subpoena to be destroyed and they didn't tell the IRS, no private citizen could get away with that. But somehow it is OK for John Koskinen, not only to get away with that, but not even to show up to answer the questions.

That's why when you think about what took place here, we think he should go, he should be impeached.

CAVUTO: Whether it is Koskinen at the IRS or what is going on at the VA and all these other agencies, it is always sold on the idea that we have and issues and deal with stuff, but the wait is not the issue.

You waiting and waiting and waiting is not the issue. You as a congressman waiting for answers is not the issue. Me standing on the line for three hours is not the issue. A vet waiting for weeks, months is not the issue.  It is the care they get afterwards. It's the protection we get at airports afterwards, as if the end justifies the long line means. It doesn't.

JORDAN: No, it doesn't.

And you're right. Waiting is a problem. The old line time is money if you're in the private sector, of course. So, yes, Neil, this is a huge problem, and it just shows the arrogance.

Pat Caddell, I was with him a few weeks ago. And he's doing a lot of surveying, and a lot of polling, and he told me something that just stuck out; 80 percent, 80 percent of Americans think this town, Washington, is rigged against them, rigged against middle-class families, rigged against average people, rigged against them and exist to serve the elite, the big corporations, with the big lobbyists and everything else, that this town is rigged.

And the reason they believe that is because it is true. And some of the activities we have been talking about demonstrate that it's true. So Americans are right in that belief that they see about this place.

CAVUTO: Congressman, I'm the last one to burn a torch or storm the gates, but I will say that I think it's important for those in Washington to, if you are going to head an agency, to eat your own cooking.

In other words, if you're saying that the TSA waits aren't bad, wait in line. If you're saying that that is waiting weeks, months, sometimes years for particular medical services is fine, you try it. If you say that it's OK to deal with the wait and the hassle and just the totally crude and rude way people are treated, you deal with it.

I guarantee you, Republican or Democrat, things would change.

JORDAN: I agree completely.

John Koskinen should be subject to the same rules. When he issues subpoenas, when he issues audits, they're complied with. When we issue a subpoena to the IRS, saying give us the documents, they destroy them.

You cannot have that double standard. He should abide by the same rules all us citizens have to abide by when the IRS investigates us. That's all we're saying. And then when you go to underlying offense here, the fact that they were targeting people for their First Amendment political speech, when you go to the underlying offense, and then look at what he did, and he was brought in to restore confidence, in the president's words, restore confidence in the IRS, of course this activity warrants impeachment.

And that's why we are pursuing it.

CAVUTO: All right. Congressman, thank you very, very much.

JORDAN: Thank you.

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