[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 175 (Tuesday, December 6, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7252-H7255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I offer this resolution, H. Res. 828, for
consideration by the full House.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 828
Resolved, That John Andrew Koskinen, Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service, is impeached for high crimes and
misdemeanors and that the following articles of impeachment
be exhibited to the Senate:
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of
Representatives of the United States of America in the name
of itself and of the people of the United States of America,
against John Andrew Koskinen, Commissioner of the Internal
Revenue Service, in maintenance and support of its
impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.
article i
John Andrew Koskinen, in his conduct while Commissioner of
the Internal Revenue Service, engaged in a pattern of conduct
that is incompatible with his duties as an Officer of the
United States, as follows:
Commissioner Koskinen failed in his duty to respond to
lawfully issued congressional subpoenas. On August 2, 2013,
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House
of Representatives issued a subpoena to Secretary of the
Treasury Jacob Lew, the custodian of Internal Revenue Service
documents. That subpoena demanded, among other things,
``[a]ll communications sent or received by Lois Lerner, from
January 1, 2009, to August 2, 2013''. On February 14, 2014,
following the Senate's confirmation of John Andrew Koskinen
as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives reissued the subpoena to him.
On March 4, 2014, Internal Revenue Service employees in
Martinsburg, West Virginia, magnetically erased 422 backup
tapes, destroying as many as 24,000 of Lois Lerner's emails
responsive to the subpoena. This action impeded congressional
investigations into the Internal Revenue Service targeting of
Americans based on their political affiliation. The American
people may never know the true culpability or extent of the
Internal Revenue Service targeting because of the destruction
of evidence that took place.
Wherefore, John Andrew Koskinen, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
article ii
John Andrew Koskinen engaged in a pattern of deception that
demonstrates his unfitness to serve as Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service. Commissioner Koskinen made a series
of false and misleading statements to Congress in
contravention of his oath to tell the truth. Those false
statements included the following:
(1) On June 20, 2014, Commissioner Koskinen testified that
``since the start of this investigation, every email has been
preserved. Nothing has been lost. Nothing has been
destroyed.''.
(2) On June 23, 2014, Commissioner Koskinen testified that
the Internal Revenue Service had ``confirmed that backup
tapes from 2011 no longer existed because they have been
recycled, pursuant to the Internal Revenue Service normal
policy''. He went on to explain that ``[c]onfirmed means that
somebody went back and looked and made sure that in fact any
backup tapes that had existed had been recycled''.
(3) On March 26, 2014, Commissioner Koskinen was asked
during a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform of the House of Representatives, ``Sir, are
you or are you not going to provide this committee all of
Lois Lerner's emails?''. He answered, ``Yes, we will do
that.''.
Each of those statements was materially false. On March 4,
2014, Internal Revenue Service employees magnetically erased
422 backup tapes containing as many as 24,000 of
[[Page H7253]]
Lois Lerner's emails. On February 2, 2014, senior Internal
Revenue Service officials discovered that Lois Lerner's
computer hard drive had crashed, rendering hundreds or
thousands of her emails unrecoverable. Commissioner
Koskinen's false statements impeded and confused
congressional investigations into the Internal Revenue
Service targeting of Americans based on their political
affiliation.
Wherefore, John Andrew Koskinen, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
article iii
John Andrew Koskinen, throughout his tenure as Commissioner
of the Internal Revenue Service, has acted in a manner
inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as
an Officer of the United States, as follows:
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee
on Finance, John Andrew Koskinen promised, ``[W]e will be
transparent about any problems we run into; and the public
and certainly this committee will know about those problems
as soon as we do.''.
Commissioner Koskinen repeatedly violated that promise. As
early as February 2014 and no later than April 2014, he was
aware that a substantial portion of Lois Lerner's emails
could not be produced to Congress. However, in a March 19,
2014, letter to Senator Wyden of the Senate Committee on
Finance, Commissioner Koskinen said, ``We are transmitting
today additional information that we believe completes our
production to your committee and the House Ways and Means
[C]ommittee. . . . In light of these productions, I hope that
the investigations can be concluded in the very near
future.''. At the time he sent that letter, he knew that the
document production was not complete.
Commissioner Koskinen did not notify Congress of any
problem until June 13, 2014, when he included the information
on the fifth page of the third enclosure of a letter to the
Senate Committee on Finance.
Wherefore, John Andrew Koskinen, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
article iv
John Andrew Koskinen has failed to act with competence and
forthrightness in overseeing the investigation into Internal
Revenue Service targeting of Americans because of their
political affiliations as follows:
Commissioner Koskinen stated in a hearing on June 20, 2014,
that the Internal Revenue Service had ``gone to great
lengths'' to retrieve all of Lois Lerner's emails.
Commissioner Koskinen's actions contradicted the assurances
he gave to Congress.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found
over 1,000 of Lois Lerner's emails that the Internal Revenue
Service had failed to produce. Those discoveries took only 15
days of investigation to uncover. The Treasury Inspector
General for Tax Administration searched a number of available
sources, including disaster backup tapes, Lois Lerner's
Blackberry, the email server, backup tapes for the email
server, and Lois Lerner's temporary replacement laptop. The
Internal Revenue Service failed to examine any of those
sources in its own investigation.
Wherefore, John Andrew Koskinen, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment, trial, and removal from office.
{time} 1700
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution presents a question of
privilege.
Motion to Table
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the resolution on the table.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 180,
nays 235, not voting 18, as follows:
[Roll No. 607]
YEAS--180
Adams
Aguilar
Ashford
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cardenas
Carney
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Dent
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Duckworth
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Esty
Evans
Farr
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Graham
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hastings
Heck (WA)
Higgins
Himes
Hinojosa
Honda
Hoyer
Huffman
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Kuster
Langevin
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Levin
Lewis
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Moulton
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nolan
Norcross
O'Rourke
Pallone
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rangel
Rice (NY)
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Sherman
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
Young (AK)
NAYS--235
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Babin
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Benishek
Bilirakis
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Bost
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Brat
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Chaffetz
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costello (PA)
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Davidson
Davis, Rodney
Denham
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Dold
Donovan
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers (NC)
Emmer (MN)
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Garrett
Gibbs
Gibson
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Grothman
Guinta
Guthrie
Hanna
Hardy
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Hice, Jody B.
Hill
Holding
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurd (TX)
Hurt (VA)
Jenkins (KS)
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan
Joyce
Katko
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Knight
Labrador
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Latta
LoBiondo
Long
Loudermilk
Love
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
MacArthur
Marchant
Marino
Massie
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mica
Miller (FL)
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Newhouse
Noem
Nugent
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Pitts
Poliquin
Pompeo
Posey
Price, Tom
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney (FL)
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Rouzer
Royce
Russell
Salmon
Sanford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Stutzman
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Trott
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (IA)
Young (IN)
Zeldin
Zinke
NOT VOTING--18
Brown (FL)
Castor (FL)
Clawson (FL)
Forbes
Heck (NV)
Issa
Jolly
Kirkpatrick
Larsen (WA)
Lee
Lieu, Ted
Miller (MI)
Pittenger
Poe (TX)
Richmond
Sanchez, Loretta
Van Hollen
Westmoreland
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes
remaining.
{time} 1719
Mr. NOLAN changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the motion to table was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated against:
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I was too far away to return for the vote in
time. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay' on rollcall No.
607.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise for a parliamentary inquiry
based upon the resolution before us and the
[[Page H7254]]
most somber responsibility of impeachment.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Texas will state her
parliamentary inquiry.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, the inquiry is the underlying premise
as to whether or not an impeachment should go forward when there are
questions that are not documented of malfeasance or malice or the
interpretation of the Madison Papers or the impeachment articles under
the Constitution. Obviously, we are now preparing to refer.
My question, Mr. Speaker, is whether or not we have made the
appropriate documentation in the resolutions of the Articles of
Impeachment that we should even refer this at all?
I raise the question on a parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has ruled that this resolution
raises a question of the privileges of the House, and it is up to the
House to dispose of that question.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. I thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Let me say that the substance of the Articles of Impeachment do not
meet the standards that are evidenced in the articles in the
Constitution or interpretive works, such as the Madison Papers. I
believe it is without substance, and I would hope that we would not
refer this at this time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman is not stating a
parliamentary inquiry.
Motion to Refer
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion offered by
the gentleman from Virginia.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. Goodlatte moves that the resolution be referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Virginia is recognized
for 1 hour.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, Members have different opinions about
what to do to address the allegations of misconduct against IRS
Commissioner John Koskinen. Some would impeach him; others would
censure him. Still others would impose no penalty.
To address these differences of opinion and to ensure this body
administers due process in these deliberations, I recommend that the
House refer this matter to the House Judiciary Committee.
I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question
on the motion to refer.
The previous question was ordered.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Kentucky will state his
parliamentary inquiry.
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, is this impeachment resolution necessary or
is it, in fact, true that Mr. Koskinen's term extends well into the
next President's term all the way until November? Is that true?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair cannot advise on that matter.
The question is on the motion to refer.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 342,
noes 72, not voting 19, as follows:
[Roll No. 608]
AYES--342
Abraham
Adams
Aguilar
Amodei
Ashford
Barletta
Barr
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Benishek
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Bost
Boustany
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brooks (IN)
Brownley (CA)
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burgess
Bustos
Butterfield
Calvert
Capps
Capuano
Cardenas
Carney
Carson (IN)
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Cartwright
Castro (TX)
Chabot
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Coffman
Cohen
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Connolly
Conyers
Cook
Cooper
Costa
Costello (PA)
Courtney
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cuellar
Culberson
Cummings
Curbelo (FL)
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
Davis, Rodney
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Denham
Dent
DeSaulnier
Diaz-Balart
Dingell
Doggett
Dold
Donovan
Doyle, Michael F.
Duckworth
Duffy
Duncan (TN)
Edwards
Ellison
Ellmers (NC)
Emmer (MN)
Engel
Eshoo
Esty
Evans
Farenthold
Farr
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Fortenberry
Foster
Foxx
Frankel (FL)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Gibbs
Gibson
Goodlatte
Gowdy
Graham
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Grothman
Guinta
Guthrie
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hanna
Hardy
Harper
Hastings
Heck (WA)
Hensarling
Higgins
Hill
Himes
Hinojosa
Holding
Honda
Hoyer
Hudson
Huffman
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hurd (TX)
Hurt (VA)
Israel
Issa
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Jenkins (KS)
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones
Joyce
Kaptur
Katko
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
King (NY)
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Knight
Kuster
LaHood
Lance
Langevin
Larson (CT)
Latta
Lawrence
Levin
Lewis
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Lofgren
Loudermilk
Love
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
MacArthur
Maloney, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean
Marino
Matsui
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McCollum
McGovern
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McNerney
McSally
Meehan
Meeks
Meng
Mica
Miller (FL)
Moolenaar
Moore
Moulton
Mullin
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (PA)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neugebauer
Newhouse
Nolan
Norcross
Nugent
Nunes
O'Rourke
Olson
Palazzo
Pallone
Pascrell
Paulsen
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Pocan
Poliquin
Polis
Pompeo
Price (NC)
Price, Tom
Quigley
Rangel
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Rice (NY)
Rice (SC)
Richmond
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rokita
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sarbanes
Scalise
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, Austin
Scott, David
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Sewell (AL)
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Speier
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Trott
Tsongas
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walden
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Wenstrup
Westerman
Wilson (FL)
Wilson (SC)
Womack
Woodall
Yarmuth
Yoder
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Young (IN)
NOES--72
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Babin
Barton
Bilirakis
Blackburn
Blum
Brat
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Buck
Byrne
Chaffetz
Davidson
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Duncan (SC)
Fleming
Garrett
Gohmert
Gosar
Graves (LA)
Griffith
Harris
Hartzler
Herrera Beutler
Hice, Jody B.
Huelskamp
Hunter
Johnson, Sam
Jordan
Kelly (MS)
King (IA)
Labrador
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Long
Lummis
Marchant
Massie
Meadows
Messer
Mooney (WV)
Mulvaney
Noem
Palmer
Pearce
Perry
Pitts
Posey
Ribble
Rigell
Roby
Rohrabacher
Rooney (FL)
Rouzer
Russell
Salmon
Sanford
Schweikert
Stutzman
Wagner
Walberg
Walker
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Williams
Wittman
Yoho
Zeldin
Zinke
NOT VOTING--19
Brown (FL)
Castor (FL)
Clawson (FL)
Deutch
Forbes
Heck (NV)
Jolly
Kirkpatrick
Larsen (WA)
Lee
McDermott
Miller (MI)
Pittenger
Poe (TX)
Rush
Sanchez, Loretta
Van Hollen
Welch
Westmoreland
{time} 1740
Messrs. BILIRAKIS and PALMER changed their vote from ``aye'' to
``no.''
So the motion to refer was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
[[Page H7255]]
____________________