Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) appeared on the Janine Turner Show Thursday to discuss the day’s hearing into the IRS abuse scandal. Gowdy sits on the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee. Turner interviewed him shortly after the conclusion of today’s hearings.
Gowdy noted that today’s hearing featured two IRS employees from the Cincinnati office, which IRS official Lois Lerner blamed for the agency’s abuse of Tea Party and conservative groups. The two witnesses, Elizabeth Hofacre and Carter Hull, both testified that the orders in the scandal came from Washington, and were never explained to them or the other IRS officials who worked in the Cincinnati office.
Gowdy also assured listeners that both the IRS and Benghazi scandals are moving ahead despite the fact that both have been crowded out of the news lately by other stories. He said that time in hearings is so limited that while they make for good theater, they make for poor investigation techniques. He said that where he had five minutes to question witnesses in the hearing, he might take five hours to question them in a deposition. He said that witnesses and suspects are being interviewed in an ongoing basis away from the spotlight of the hearings.
Turner asked Gowdy if Congress will eventually get to the bottom of who ordered the targeting of these groups.
“It will get done,” Gowdy replied. “It’s tedious, it is slow, it not always sexy at all. Sometimes it’s flat out boring. But I’ve been through so many trials in my life. All witnesses don’t hit home runs.”
“It’s not going away, in fact, we’re gonna talk about it in our town halls in August,” Gowdy added. He encouraged all of his House colleagues to use their August townhalls with constituents to talk about the scandal, because “If anything ought to transcend partisan politics, it ought to be government targeting people based on political ideology.” He said that American voters can help Congress provide oversight in the case.
About three-fourths of the American people favor a special prosecutor in the IRS abuse scandal.
Listen to the entire interview here.
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