Darrell Issa seen plowing ahead with IRS probe amid new evidence (Elijah Cummings deeply saddened)

By JOHN BRESNAHAN and LAUREN FRENCH | 3/7/14 2:00 PM EST Updated: 3/7/14 3:53 PM EST

Not even a trove of new evidence will stop Darrell Issa from going after Lois Lerner’s testimony.

The House Oversight Committee Chairman is plowing forward with plans to hold the former IRS official in contempt of Congress - possibly as early as next week - despite word from the tax agency that it plans to hand over a broad set of documents spanning Lerner’s entire career at the IRS.

Republicans have long sought the documents and complained the IRS wasn’t sharing the whole picture on Lerner’s 12-year tenure at the agency. The documents will officially go to the Ways and Means Committee but the two panels are sharing evidence.

A senior Republican staffer insists that won’t stop Issa, who caused a stir this week when his rift with Democrats stole the spotlight at a combative hearing. He will still likely seek her testimony, this person said.

“The underlying facts of the case and her refusal to testify have not changed,” said the senior House Republican staffer, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) joined calls to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress after she asserted her Fifth Amendment right during a Wednesday hearing. Issa has suggested that Congress could hold a contempt vote early as next week.

The timing of the IRS agreeing to turn over the documents - which House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) has been seeking for months - caused Democrats to question whether gaining access to a trove of new emails and documents could take some off the pressure off congressional Republicans to move quickly on Lerner’s refusal to testify.

“Maybe more level heads on Ways and Means can finally obtain her testimony instead of holding political contempt votes,” an Oversight Democratic staffer said.

But the GOP aide said that Democrats were mistaken if they thought they could drive a wedge between Camp and Issa by giving the documents to Camp just as the contempt debate heats up.

“We have done a pretty good job at keeping everyone on the same page,” said the aide.

Camp first asked for the communications from the IRS last fall. The Michigan Republican sent a letter to the IRS on Feb. 24 threatening a subpoena if they did not quickly make more of the documents available.

Remember how dire the consequences were going to be if a Bail Out weren't immediately put in place just after Obama was elected....remember the second bail out got the same notice to move fast..........an awful lot of money ain't been accounted for.....

EXCERPT---FOURTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS Behind The Real Size of the Bailout; A guide to the abbreviations, acronyms, and obscure programs that make up the $14 trillion federal bailout of Wall Street
SOURCE motherjones.com
Mon Dec. 21, 2009 12:23 PM PST

The price tag for the Wall Street bailout is popularly put at $700 billion—---the actual size of TARP--the Troubled Assets Relief Program. But TARP is just the best known program in an array of more than 30 overseen by Treasury Department and Federal Reserve that have paid out or put aside untraceable money to bail out financial firms and inject money into the markets.

To get a sense of the size of the real $14 trillion bailout, see MJ chart at web site. A guide to the pieces of the puzzle includes massive untraceable Treasury Department bailout programs.

Money Market Mutual Fund: In September 2008, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel announced that it would insure the holdings of publicly offered money market mutual funds. According to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), these guarantees could have potentially cost the federal government more than $3 trillion [PDF].

Public-Private Investment Fund: This joint Treasury-Federal Reserve program bought toxic assets from banks and brokerages—as much as $5 billion of assets per firm. According to SIGTARP, the government's potential exposure from the PPIF is between $500 million and $1 trillion [PDF].

TARP: As part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel made loans to or investments more than 750 banks and financial institutions. $650 billion has been paid out (not including HAMP; see below). As of December 21, 2009, $117.5 billion of that has been repaid.

Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) stock purchase: The Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel bought $200 million in preferred stock from Fannie Mae and another $200 million from Freddie Mac [PDF] to show that they "will remain viable entities critical to the functioning of the housing and mortgage markets."

GSE mortgage-backed securities purchase: Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel may buy mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to SIGTARP, these purchases could cost as much as $314 billion ---SNIP---.

LONG READ---go to web site to read more and checkout the shocking financial charts.

SOURCE http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/behind-real-size-bailout

Conservative files abuse of power complaint against Dem. Rep. Elijah Cummings February 7, 2014
According to Engelbrecht, Cummings used his power to harass and intimidate True the Vote and may have encouraged the IRS and other agencies to target her organizations.
"Congressman Cummings on three separate occasions sent letters on letterhead from this committee, stating that he had concerns and felt it necessary to open an investigation on True the Vote," she said.
TOP DEMOCRAT Elijah Cummings Admits Corruption and Abuse of Power at IRS (VIdeo) May 22, 2013

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