House panel hearing lawmaker who wants IRS chief impeached

WASHINGTON (AP) — A sympathetic House Judiciary Committee is giving a high-profile forum to a top Republican who wants to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, a cause that excites conservatives but seems unlikely to go far in Congress this election year.

The Utah Republican has been pushing for Koskinen's removal since last summer, accusing the commissioner of hindering congressional investigations of his agency.

Chaffetz has accused Koskinen of failing to provide congressional investigators with subpoenaed evidence, not testifying truthfully about the destruction of emails and taking three months to reveal to Congress that emails considered important to the probe were missing.

The Justice Department ended a two-year investigation of the controversy last year, saying no IRS official would face criminal charges and that it had uncovered no evidence that agency officials acted out of political bias against conservative groups.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the House has impeached only 19 people in history — Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson, one senator, one Cabinet member and 15 federal judges.