Al Sharpton, Hillary Clinton, Lois Lerner Share Recordkeeping Tips
We may never get the full story of Hillary Clintons emails, orLois Lerners for that matter. Both were savvy enough to be selective. Onecan add Al Sharpton to the clever trio, although his contribution to the game may be more old-fashioned:fires that destroy tax records.In his own low tech way, Rev. Sharptonhas managed to keep tax problems under raps that would be catastrophic for mere mortals.
As Americans look for receipts and pour over their records, some maybe struck by theodd serendipity. Maybe we all willlearn thatno one in government knows how to use email except Hillary Clinton. Even before we knewthat Mrs. Clinton never used the State Department email system,President Obama was adamant that there wasnosmidgen of corruptionat the IRS. Employees were confused. Cincinnati went rogue. Etc.
Yet in recent hearings of the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, the Treasury Inspector General testified that he is investigating possible criminal activity at the IRS.All thisas Mrs.Clintons remarkable e-mail drama is acted outand acted is right. Meanwhile,Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Tex.) introduced a bill to bar IRS employees from using non-official e-mail for government business. Lois Lerner allegedly also used her personal account to discuss IRS matters.
Oh, texts too (listen up Mrs. Clinton). In2013, when the IRS targeting scandal was already brewing, Ms. Lerner asked an IT specialist if the IRS saved texts?No, not automatically, he said, but theIT person also saidsaving them waspossible, so be careful. Perfect, was Ms. Lerners response.IRS Commissioner John Koskinentestified thathe was unaware of the instant-messaging system. Of course, he also testified at how hard the IRS looked for Lerners emails.
Remember all those many millions of dollars of taxpayer money the IRS spent looking? Yet House Members were recently told by the Inspector General that theIT staff of the IRS said they were never even askedfor backup tapes to find Lerners emails. Deputy Inspector General Tim Camussaid finding the emails was easy.They were right where you would expect them to be, he told the Oversight Committee on Feb. 27.
A probe forpotential criminal activity related to covering-up Lerners emails? The fact that the C word is being used by the Inspector General is remarkable. That isnt proof, of course, but it is astounding, even if that is as far as it goes. Recordsrevealthat Ms. Lois Lernerreceived $129,000 in bonuses, averaging $43,000 a year on top of her salary during the time she was presiding over alleged discrimination against conservative nonprofits.
Even before Ms. Lerner became the face of the IRS targeting scandal, there wereallegations shehad prior history of targeting conservatives. She would become what George Willcalledthe scowling face of the state. She repeatedly refused to testify, yet collects a nice federal pension. Proof is so terribly important.
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Al Sharpton, Hillary Clinton, Lois Lerner Share Recordkeeping Tips