Elijah Cummings Releases A Full IRS Interview Transcript To The Public

When last we left the stand off between the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Daryl Issa, and the committee’s senior Democratic Member, Elijah Cummings over the release of IRS Interview Transcripts, Issa had largely ignored Cummings request to begin to publicly release the full transcripts of recent interviews with IRS employees.

Instead, Issa made select excerpts of the transcripts available to members of the press.

Earlier today Cummings released a full (redacted) transcript of one of the interviews via the Democrat’s House Oversight Committee Page.*

Well, the “S” is now on!

The ball is back in Issa’s court — though it’s difficult to guess what, beyond expressing his displeasure, what his next move will be. While we’re waiting, I’m planning to scan through the released transcript and see what, if anything new, we learn from its release.

[Hat tip to OTB commenter Surreal American for pointing me to this news]

* – I was somewhat surprised to discover that there are two different House Oversight Committee pages, one for each party.

FILED UNDER: Taxes,
Matt Bernius
About Matt Bernius
Matt Bernius is a design researcher working to create more equitable government systems and experiences. He's currently a Principal User Researcher on Code for America's "GetCalFresh" program, helping people apply for SNAP food benefits in California. Prior to joining CfA, he worked at Measures for Justice and at Effective, a UX agency. Matt has an MA from the University of Chicago.

Comments

  1. Sam Malone says:

    You mean Darell Issa is a partisan hack on a witch-hunt?
    Shocked.
    And Stunned.

  2. Surreal American says:

    OT, but yay! My first hat tip ever on a blog!

  3. HarvardLaw92 says:

    Caca just got real! 😀

  4. OzarkHillbilly says:

    The ball is back in Issa’s court — though it’s difficult to guess what, beyond expressing his displeasure, what his next move will be.

    Issa’s next move:

    I am deeply disappointed that Ranking Member Cummings has decided to broadly disseminate and post online a 205 page transcript that will serve as a roadmap for IRS officials to navigate investigative interviews with Congress. After unsuccessfully trying to convince the American people that IRS officials in Washington did not play a role in inappropriate scrutiny of Tea Party groups and declaring on national television that the case of IRS targeting was ‘solved’ and Congress should ‘move on,’ this looks like flailing. Americans who think Congress should investigate IRS misconduct should be outraged by Mr. Cummings’ efforts to obstruct needed oversight.

    In the course of this fact based inquiry, Ranking Member Cummings has wrongly argued that questions about IRS conduct are somehow not legitimate. His own previous release of excerpts from this very same transcript undermines his claims that the Committee is somehow trying to keep some specific revelation from public view.

    Hey Darrell, you want some cheese with that whine?

  5. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Surreal American: Congrats!

  6. David in KC says:

    If he wanted to keep the “integrity” of the investigation, he shouldn’t have released any excepts until the interviews were over. It’s obvious he wanted to influence future witnesses to testify in such a manner to keep his narrative alive, the truth and facts be damned.

  7. David in KC says:

    @Surreal American: Good catch and congrats.

  8. the Q says:

    What is a “full (redacted) transcript” mean?

    Is that like a partial pregnancy?

  9. al-Ameda says:

    Darrell Issa is responsible for more wasted of oxygen, bandwidth, and wealth than any person in America today. That said, if the Senate goes Republican in 2014, Issa will have his House friends send up articles of impeachment of the President.

  10. HarvardLaw92 says:

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Sorry, but did any witness show up at this committee hearing without a lawyer? Is Issa so desperate to keep the innuendo train moving that he’s actually trying to pretend that people who might be inclined to lie actually need a transcript to show them how to do it?

    How did this moron ever get elected to Congress?

  11. michael reynolds says:

    @HarvardLaw92:
    Hey, hey, hey! Moron? Are you forgetting that he’s also a former car thief and an accused arsonist? Any number of constituencies can elect a moron. This is an extra special set of voters.

  12. an says:

    Congress wants to cut NASA’s budget, but they have money for this and countless show votes against Obamacare. Well, the future of the human race is just not that important.

    Speaking of Obamacare:

    First drop in medical costs since 1970s

  13. Barry says:

    @Surreal American: “OT, but yay! My first hat tip ever on a blog! ”

    Go to Starbucks, show them this webpage, and you’ll get a free cup of water 🙂

  14. Surreal American says:

    @Barry:

    LOL! Believe me, I’m well aware of the actual value of a hat tip. It was just nice to see my user name near the article.

  15. Paul L. says:

    Obama Admin transparency.
    The transcripts Cummings released redacted the names of the IRS agents investigators interviewed, as well as the names of the attorneys involved.
    Maybe I’ll believe the “Conservative Republican ” IRS manager who said that Washington/the White House had nothing to do with the “teabagger” audits if he would revel his identity

  16. 11B40 says:

    Greetings:

    WHo do this Issa guy think he is ??? Eric Holder ???

  17. al-Ameda says:

    @Paul L.:

    Maybe I’ll believe the “Conservative Republican ” IRS manager who said that Washington/the White House had nothing to do with the “teabagger” audits if he would revel his identity

    Damned RINOs.