IRS scandal: Time for special prosecutor

U-T San Diego Editorial Board 05:00p.m. Jun 17, 2014

It has been more than a year since IRS official Lois Lerner admitted that the tax-collection agency had targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny before the 2012 presidential election. In his initial reaction, President Barack Obama expressed dismay and vowed to get to the bottom of what the IRS had done. Soon afterward, however, the president called this a “phony scandal.”

That’s been the administration’s position ever since. Yet it won’t cooperate with investigations that might show there’s no scandal. Much of the media somehow looks at this picture and thinks this contradictory response makes sense.

Now that finally might change. In a classicFriday evening “document dump,” the IRS revealed Lerner’s emails had been lost because of computer breakdowns. On Tuesday, there were reports that the emails of six more key officials were also unavailable.

These emails had been sought by House investigators since last year. Yet only now do these alleged major IRS computer woes come to light.

How convenient. How outrageous.

It’s time for San Diego’s entire congressional delegation — not just its Republican members — to demand action.

When such crucial evidence goes missing, the status quo approach of congressional investigations is no longer enough. It’s time for the Obama administration to appoint a special prosecutor to get to the bottom of this ugly affair.