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the Syrian come to order welcome everyone met welcome mister gaskin
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appreciate your being here we're here today
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convening this hearing for two unfortunate reasons
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main reason we're here
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because we have a broken tax system in this country
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our income tax system today
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embodied in the IRS hurts the American dream
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it takes money out of the pockets of hard-working Americans
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it reduces their take-home pay it stifles economic growth
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it keeps small businesses from becoming big business
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and it's created a labyrinth of credits and deductions
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that empowers politicians
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at the expense of hardworking Americans
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but the other reason we're here
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is because with the exponential growth for the tax code with the unbelievable
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our current tax system we have seen the creation
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have an entity that I believe is no longer serving the interest to the
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the IRS has been considered
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by the american people to be an abusive agency for so long
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that for many americans it's become the embodiment
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what's wrong with government and what's wrong with Washington
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as it has met ass to sizet
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over the decades taking more and more into the pockets
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hardworking taxpayers the IRS has become more and more powerful
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there are few things more terrifying to an American citizen
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and the IRS come knocking at your door
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but the last six-and-a-half years it's taken an even darker turn
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students of history are well aware
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that richard nixon attempted to use the IRS
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to target his political enemies that was wrong
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it was an abuse of power and it is to the credit
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other professionals at the IRS today refused president nixon's demands
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that the IRS be turned into a political weapon
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the last six-and-a-half years
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unfortunately the IRS did not demonstrate that same courage that same
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integrity that same willingness to stand up to political demands
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the available evidence indicates that not only did the Obama administration
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to use the IRS to silence to punish its political enemies
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but the Obama administration succeeded
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in doing so when richard nixon abused his power he was rightly condemned
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by both parties for an abuse of power
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and indeed in the early days at the IRS scandal
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the same was true of the Obama administration on the day that the
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inspector general reported the Treasury Department broke
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President Obama said he was outraged he said I am angry
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and the american people have a right to be angry as well I don't say this often
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but I agree emphatically with President Obama
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the American people have the right
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to be angry when an instrumental the federal government is used as a partisan
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to punish to silence
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citizens that dare speak out against their government that dare
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take a differing policy view
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than the current party in power
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although the American people had a right to be angry many months have passed
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years have passed and not one single person has been indicted
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and many of the victims are the legal targeting
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have yet to be interviewed now some might think that is curious
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if the president of the united states was telling the truth when he said he
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one would expect action from prosecutors
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and yet subsequently the rather stunning news broke
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that the Obama Justice Department put in charge of the investigation
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a major Democratic donor
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who were given over six thousand dollars personally
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the President Obama and the Democrats and wonder I wonder marvel at marbles
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when you ask a major Democratic donor
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to investigate whether the IRS is targeting the political enemies
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at the Obama White House
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nothing happens twice we've seen lowest learner come before the united states
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raise her hand and plead the fifth now that is her right under the Constitution
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under the bill of rights
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but it's worth understanding what that means when you are pleading the fifth
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you were saying if I answer your questions I may well
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implicate myself in criminal conduct
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a senior official at the IRS
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twice saying if I answer your questions
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I could end up in the slammer
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anyone who cares about integrity in government
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should be horrified at senior government officials say I can't tell you what I
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because criminal liability may result
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those protestations of how I angry the president was how angry the american
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should had been somehow faded into the mist
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with a pattern we've seen a scandal after scandal ever after scandal in this
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on day one the president always says he's angry
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and then the next step kicks in
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the administration begins stonewalling
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begins denying witnesses begins resisting turning over documents begins
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we've lost lowest learners emails wonder a one yr don't expect a government
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agency to actually keep
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records a females being said by senior government officials
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we destroyed the hard drives
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richard nixon's ghost
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must've been smiling at that protestations
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tricky dick understood well
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destroying emails in his day
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it was a racing tape but it was much the same we should expect accountability
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and we should expect to now
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the extent to which the federal government continues
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to target knows who appear to be the political enemies
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the president there is a reason there is a growing hue and cry across this
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to abolish the IRS altogether
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parted it is simply the abuses are the tax code the burdens on job creation the
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burdens on people struggling to achieve the American dream
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part of it is the complexity that nobody it seems understand fully what the tax
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even those with advanced professional training have to hire specialized
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accountants to keep up
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with the bast complexity but the real reason why more and more Americans in
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all 50 states are saying enough is enough
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is we should not have a federal government agency that becomes
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on Intimidator going after citizens going after citizen groups
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violating their first amendment right
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no politician has the right
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to use the machinery of the executive branch to target
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their political enemies when richard nixon did it was wrong
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any rightly resigned from the presidency in disgrace
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I'm reminded noted liberal constitutional law professor
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jonathan turley who voted
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for President Obama in 2008 is no conservative
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and yet professor turley is told congress
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that President Obama has become
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the embodiment of the imperial presidency that Barack Obama has becom
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the president that richard milhouse nixon always wished he could be
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is about ensuring accountability at the IRS both for past misconduct that
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to be covered up to be stonewall that continues to lack
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and also for current and future practice to answer the question what is happening
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right now who is being targeted
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by the Obama IRS is it limited
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to 501 c3 and c4 group or is it targeted individuals
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I cannot tell you how many individuals across this country as I travel the
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that's a you know I got involved in the last election the 2012 election i
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supported I raise money for Mitt Romney I raise money for Rick Perry I raise
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money for some Republican candidate
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and I'd been in business 20 30 40 years I've never been audited
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as soon as my name was published in the papers within months the tax man comes
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now one or two anecdotal stories does not prove a pattern
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but it's incumbent on the senate
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it's incumbent on Congress to ask is there a pattern
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has become a partisan arm at the Democratic National Committee
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there can be no stronger argument for ending the IRS as we know it
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so that no administration democrat or republican
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can use the IRS to target its political opponents
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if a Republican president did this is richard nixon tried
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I can assure you I would every be every bit as loud
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and clear that it is an abuse of power
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and for a democratic administration to do this and a fine
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democratic defenders have this abuse the power
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is profoundly dangerous to liberty
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that is the basis for the incredible miracle we call the United States of
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