An independent investigation by a special counsel is tailor made for the Internal Revenue Service targeting scandal. In instances like this, national leaders like the President and Attorney General of the United States must transcend politics and make restoring trust in government the paramount issue. 

Read more at Breitbart.com here. 

In a case concerning the politicization of the IRS, people serving at the pleasure of the President at DOJ cannot be trusted to conduct an independent investigation because there is a conflict of interest. 

For example, if the investigation were to lead to the White House, should someone appointed by (or essentially working for) President Obama be expected to be able to run an unbiased investigation that could make their boss or people around him look bad (or worse)?  The idea that AG Holder apparently believes that an independent investigation by his department into this matter is possible is troubling.  Holder’s first instinct in this case should have been to appoint a special counsel to get this case out of the hands of the Obama Administration and presidential political appointees.  

The American people will not and should not stand for a political investigation of the politicization of the IRS.  If AG Holder won’t appoint a special counsel himself, President Obama should have the wisdom and sense of what’s right to make him do it.  The person appointed to be special counsel should have a reputation for impartiality with impeccable credentials for following the facts wherever they lead without concern for politics.  Only this will restore trust with the American people.  

This decision – whichever way it goes – will be remembered by historians as a critical moment in the Obama Administration. 

Call AG Eric Holder at (202) 353-1555 and tell him the right thing to do is to appoint a special counsel to investigate the IRS before all credibility is lost. 

Lt. Col. Allen West endorses House Resolution 36 which would establish a Select Committee on Benghazi.  You can send a letter to your Member of Congress urging them to support H.R. 36 here.  


 

This week was not the first time Cheryl Mills’ name has come up in a controversial manner at a congressional oversight hearing. In fact, it’s not the first time Ms. Mills has been the subject of potential wrongdoing in the very same hearing room--Room 2154 in the Rayburn House Office Building to be exact. 

Read more at Breitbart.com here. 
 

This week was not the first time Cheryl Mills’ name has come up in a controversial manner at a Congressional Oversight Hearing.  Not even close.  In fact, it’s not the first time Ms. Mills has been the subject of potential wrongdoing in the very same hearing room – room 2154 in the Rayburn House Office Building to be exact.  

While being questioned under oath by Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Wednesday, former Deputy Ambassador to Libya Gregory Hicks testified that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff Cheryl Mills was “very upset” when she called him about his cooperation with congressional investigators.  According to The New York Times: 

“Mr. Hicks offered an unbecoming view of political supervision and intimidation inside the Obama administration. When Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah, visited Libya after the attack, Mr. Hicks said his bosses told him not to talk to the Congressman. When he did anyway, and a State Department lawyer was excluded from one meeting because he lacked the necessary security clearance, Mr. Hicks said he received an angry phone call from Mrs. Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.” 

Throughout the 1990s, Mills was a big part of the Clinton White House counsel’s office “damage control” detail.  Name the Clinton scandal and Cheryl Mills was usually running interference for the Clintons with congressional investigators.  In fact, in 1998, Mills allegedly crossed the line in her dealings with the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.  The committee felt it was necessary to send a criminal referral to the Department of Justice regarding Mills’ activities and testimony on behalf of the Clinton White House.  According to a January 22, 1999 article in The Washington Times: 

“Just last September [1998], Rep. Dan Burton wrote to the Justice Department requesting that Ms. Mills be prosecuted for lying under oath and for concealing documents sought under subpoena, charges that grew out of a House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform investigation. The committee was attempting to discover whether government computers and federal employees had been used to compile a White House database - a list of potential donors that was passed on to the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton/Gore campaign. If those public resources were used for political fundraising, several different laws were violated, including statutes against the theft of government property. Ms. Mills was the White House point person dealing with congressional requests for information. She was quite effective in thwarting congressional investigators - she hid documents that would have been damaging to the White House. When caught, she was questioned under oath by the committee, and denied hiding any subpoenaed papers. The committee concluded that Ms. Mills committed perjury in her effort to cover up her initial obstruction of justice.” 

Here’s a link to the official congressional report from 1998.  Search for “Mills” to read the allegations.

The fact that one of the Clintons’ most trusted confidant/lawyers was involved in this level of minutiae with regard to the Benghazi investigation is just another reason for a select committee - it’s clearly time for Speaker Boehner to bring House Resolution 36 to the floor for a vote. 

Three days from today marks 8 months since the terrorist attack on our consulate in Benghazi and today at 11:30 am ET on Capitol Hill, whistleblowers will finally testify and begin to give insight as to what happened. The American people have been demanding answers and more thorough answers as to why, when and how this attack occurred. So far, 140 Members of Congress have signed onto a bill calling for a Select Committee so that all the House committees working together to get the answers the families of the fallen and the injured deserve. 

It remains to be seen what we will learn from today’s hearing, but we know one thing to be true: the Obama Administration was not truthful with the American people. Contrary to what then-Secretary Clinton said in the last hearing, it does make a difference how and why these men died. It matters how the Administration reacted, and what they knew and when they knew it. This hearing is an important first step into getting the answers the victims and the American people deserve. 

You can stream the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on Benghazi here: http://oversight.house.gov/hearing/benghazi-exposing-failure-and-recognizing-courage/ 

It has been nearly eight months since America’s Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other brave Americans were murdered during a terrorist attack in Benghazi.  Thus far, the investigation into the attack that occurred on September 11, 2012 has been incomplete and there are more questions today than there are answers. 

This week will be pivotal for the Benghazi investigation.  The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will receive testimony from two State Department whistle-blowers and a third State Department employee about the events surrounding the attack and the Obama Administration’s response in the hours, days, and weeks that followed. 

I applaud the work of Chairman Darrell Issa and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  Back in the 1990s, I was the Chief Investigator of that same committee and know what a challenge it is to conduct thorough and effective investigations.  However, it has been three months since any Congressional committee has conducted an extensive hearing into the attack, and seven months since Chairman Issa’s committee held one.  With the revelations coming out over the last week regarding Benghazi, my resolve has only grown stronger about the need for a Select Committee to get to the bottom of what happened nearly eight months ago. 

Read more at Cagle Post here. 
 

The United States Senate will today vote on the passage of S. 743 “The Marketplace Fairness Act”.  Leave it to Washington to include the word “fairness” into a tax levy.  In reality “The Marketplace Fairness Act” will raise taxes through a sales tax on the internet.  

Millions of Americans use their computers to shop for bargains and entrepreneurs have met that demand with innovative technology and sophisticated distribution methods. This industry has flourished because government has left them alone.
But now, special interests are trying to punish online retailers and consumers by creating a new tax on shoppers. Citizens United believes taxes are too high and we are already taxed way too much. 

Every online retailer would face hefty compliance costs with trying to integrate their software with the complicated tax codes of each state and become a sales tax-collector for almost 10,000 unique tax jurisdictions. This is unprecedented.  The Marketplace Fairness Act is just another way for states not to deal with their spending problems. We must keep taxes off the internet. 

The vote for S. 743 will be among those considered for Citizens United’s 2013 Congressional Ratings. 

As the old saying goes, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

In 1986, acting on the recommendation of a bipartisan task force, President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. With good intentions, the law originally granted amnesty for those who paid a fine, took a citizenship test, learned English, and avoided criminal convictions.  However, the Reagan Administration quickly learned that forged documents led to application numbers which far exceeded projections, and illegal immigration quickly returned to high levels.   Now, 27 years later, it appears that the Senate’s “Gang of 8” is determined to repeat history. 

Read more at Breitbart.com here.  

We are approaching the eight month anniversary of the Benghazi terrorist attack that occurred on September 11, 2012 in Libya.  The families of the four Americans who were killed, including Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, still do not have a clear picture as to what actually happened. Rasmussen Reports is out with a poll that says nearly 80 percent of likely voters want to know what “exactly” happened during the Benghazi Terrorist attack. 

Citizens United has been spearheading an effort to get to the bottom of what happened in Benghazi. Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf has introduced House Resolution 36 that would, if passed, create a bi-partisan House Select Committee that will have the authority to investigate and once and for all provide answers to what actually happened last September 11th.  H. Res. 36 has garnered 134 co-sponsors and counting with a majority of the Republican majority supporting it.  

Speaker of the House John Boehner should take up this resolution when the House gets back from recess next week. Please sign this petition today urging the House to pass H. Res. 36.  This important resolution has the support of the families of the victims and the truth about the Benghazi attack needs to be exposed.