House committee votes to censure Duke alum and IRS commissioner John Koskinen

<p>A resolution was passed Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to censure John Koskinen, Trinity '61 and commissioner of the IRS&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

A resolution was passed Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to censure John Koskinen, Trinity '61 and commissioner of the IRS .  

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted Wednesday to censure John Koskinen, Trinity '61 and commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, according to a press release.

The committee passed a resolution on a 23-15 party-line vote stating that Koskinen had "engaged in a pattern of conduct inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as an Officer of the United States" and urged his resignation. The resolution includes the forfeiture of government pension and any other federal benefits that Koskinen qualifies for.

However, CNN reported that the censure must be passed by Congress to remove Koskinen's government pension. As of Wednesday night, a full House vote on the resolution had not yet been scheduled.

The measure was in response to complaints about the way Koskinen handled investigations of the 2013 IRS nonprofit targeting scandal, in which the IRS admitted to improperly scrutinizing conservative political groups applying for tax-exempt status based on keywords used in their applications.

The committee's Republican members argued that Koskinen did not comply with a subpoena and allowed evidence to be destroyed. In addition, Koskinen was accused of "failing to testify truthfully under oath and providing false and misleading information to Congress, and failing to notify Congress that key evidence was missing."

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the committee's ranking Democrat, said the resolution relied on "baseless conspiracy theories" and was a "waste of time" in his opening statement.

"This is extremely polarizing politically," said Richard Schmalbeck, Simpson Thatcher and Bartlett professor of law. "Most people right of center simply think the Obama administration went on a witch-hunt. I think that's inaccurate."

Schmalbeck said that he thinks Koskinen is "extremely honorable and has a great reputation for integrity" but acknowledged that the IRS made errors as it was attempting to enforce the law governing tax-exempt organizations. 

Koskinen has been a major University benefactor. In 1999, he and his wife Patricia established a $2.5 million trust to enhance recreational and athletic facilities and support female student athletes.

The trust was used for the construction and maintenance of Duke’s West Campus recreational facilities as well as the establishment of the John and Patricia Koskinen Scholarship Endowment—a fund to support female student-athletes.

Duke's soccer and lacrosse stadium was named the John and Patricia Koskinen Stadium in their honor.


Adam Beyer | Digital Content Director

Adam Beyer is a senior public policy major and is The Chronicle's Digital Strategy Team director.

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