The Star/Tribune Editorial Board, perhaps shockingly, called for a special prosecutor in the IRS Scandal:
That’s a necessary step, and the request should be expediently heeded by the Obama administration. Although there are two investigations underway in the Republican-controlled House, a nonpartisan review by an investigator with bipartisan respect and technological expertise is sorely needed. The public needs reassurance that the nation’s tax-collection agency is run with integrity and that anyone who may have abused its formidable authority has been held accountable.
So far, so good.
But then we swerve into the weeds:
The decision on whether to appoint a special prosecutor, officially called a special counsel, lies with the Department of Justice.
That’s long for Eric Holder. The guy who’s been stonewalling several other investigations of Obama administration corruption, Fast and Furious chief among them.
IRS officials have insisted that the lost e-mails were just an unfortunate computer meltdown and that the extra scrutiny of groups with “Tea Party” and “Patriots” in their names was a regrettable mistake. If this is trumped-up, as Democrats often and sometimes accurately deride other House investigations, there’s nothing to fear by appointing a special prosecutor to put this long-simmering scandal to bed.
Or – as Holder will do – whitewash it.
Still – while the Strib’s editorial board exhibits its inner pollyanna about the DOJ’s inner gestalt, at least it’s heart is in the right place, kind of:
It’s foolish to think this is going to blow over — or that it should. A May 2013 report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration unequivocally concluded that the agency used “inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status based upon their names or policy positions.’’…a thorough reading of the report underscores that conservative groups were targeted.
The real question is: can we, The People, trust an Obama Administration appointee to police his boss?
There was a time we could count on the media to ensure someone like Holder’s behavior would be above board.
Perhaps we need a special investigator into that …
The Strib editors know Holder won’t due anything of consequence, they’re just playing lip service in hopes of keeping their jobs when Taylor takes the reins.
Maybe someone is feeling a little anxious about incoming Strib owner and Republican Glen Taylor – or thinking about the implications of an IRS in the hands of a future, backlash administration.
Maybe someone is feeling a little anxious about incoming Strib owner and Republican Glen Taylor – or thinking about the implications of an IRS in the hands of a future, backlash administration.
Yep — the second reason is why I always got nervous when Dick Cheney would start talking about the desirability of a “unitary executive.” When your unitary executive is Barack Obama, the results can be, well, what we’ve seen.
NW
I’ve been telling people that the Republicans should just let it drop and spend all their time on other things. A few folks ask “what other things?”. I tell them getting a Republican in the WH so that we can use the IRS to dismantle Planned Parenthood chapter by chapter before we dismantle NPR. After that we go after anyone who owns a puppy mill, then we attack the unions. A partisan IRS could be a good thing.
The next administration wouldn’t necessarily have to be Republican. Another Democratic admin might just well mean the tide is irreversible. That wouldn’t be a good thing for the press or liberals (PTR), either. History has shown there is no more bloodthirsty group when it comes to enforcing thought purity than “progressives” – or more group more eager to do it when no longer faced with an external political threat.
Next thing you know is they are going to ask for voter ID.