It is remarkable how quickly the feared agency began acting like frightened gangsters once they found themselves in the investigative crosshairs:
When charges came out that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups for harassment, the Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto started calling Obama “President Asterisk.” His point was that this illicit assistance tainted the election, the way an athlete’s use of illegal performance-enhancers results in an asterisk on any records he sets.
Now it may be time for another asterisk. As Congress investigates the IRS chicanery, the IRS has responded to a request for emails to and from Lois Lerner, who spearheaded the Tea Party harassment, by saying, basically, that the dog ate its homework. Or, rather, the IRS claims, somewhat dubiously, that “a hard drive crash” on Lerner’s computer led to the loss of emails to outside entities “such as the White House, Treasury, Department of Justice, FEC, or Democrat offices.” You know, the very people she’s accused of coordinating her harassment with….
Targeting Americans is unforgivable; covering it up is worse, and if the
IRS has made it impossible to target the individuals responsible, then
the IRS as a whole should pay the price.
I find it very, very difficult to believe that the “missing emails” defense is going to hold up. Too many people have suffered at the IRS hands for too long for Congress to give Lerner and company a pass.