A clear and present danger to civil liberties

Destruction of evidence, failure to comply with Congressional subpoenas and giving false testimony before Congress are impeachable offenses.  One thinks of Watergate which resulted in prison time for a few officials and forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon, but I'm actually referring to the IRS scandal I first wrote about over two years ago ("IRS Plot Could Be Worse Than Watergate" June 9, 2013).  

I'm surprised how little fallout has occurred since.

An article for interested readers to examine was published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) last month by two Congressmen Ron DeSantis and Jim Jordan.  Anyone who still denies existence of a partisan scandal might want to read this WSJ article:

"The Stonewall at the Top of the IRS" -- July 28, 2015

by Congressman Ron DeSantis and Congressman Jim Jordan

(Also worth reading in WSJ: "How Congress Botched the IRS Probe" -- May 15, 2015 by Foley & Lardner attorney, Ms. Cleta Mitchell.)

Last week, during the Republican Presidential debates, Sen. Rand Paul complained about meta data collected to catch terrorists, but he said nary a word about the IRS issue. 

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
Official photo

The IRS scandal is as tangible than any federal surveillance problems we've seen, yet Sen. Paul prefers to focus on the NSA without evidence of citizen abuse.  I cherish privacy rights and respect the instincts behind Senator Paul's effort, but I'm more troubled by what's occurred recently at the IRS.