![\"Pablo](\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Koskinen-Swears-In-Pablo-Martinez-Monsivais-AP-640x480.jpg\")
<\/a>Pablo Martinez Monsivais\/AP<\/p><\/div>\n
by\u00a0Neil W. McCabe<\/p>\n
In a rare moment of bipartisanship, House Republicans and House Democrats came together to block a privileged motion by members of the House Freedom Caucus aimed at forcing the whole\u00a0House to vote on the impeachment of IRS Commissioner\u00a0John Koskinen.<\/h2>\n
From the House floor, Rep. Jim Jordan (R.-Ohio)<\/a>, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus<\/a>, forcefully called for the House to hold the commissioner accountable by passing House Resolution 828<\/a>, calling for the impeachment of\u00a0Koskinen for high crimes and misdemeanors.<\/p>\n As the Ohio congressman began to speak, House Democrats began to\u00a0clamor in disapproval.<\/p>\n Turning to his colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Jordan said: \u201cYou might want to listen to what we have to say first and then you can moan and groan.\u201d<\/p>\n According to House rules, written by Thomas Jefferson and known as \u201cJefferson\u2019s Manual<\/a>,\u201d upon giving notice of his intent to demand a privileged motion, the House leadership has two days to schedule an up-or-down vote without debate or amendments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe right to pursue impeachment is an indispensable power that Congress has for holding government officials accountable to the American people,\u201d Jordan said.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder his watch, with subpoenas and preservation orders in place, John Koskinen not only allowed 422 back-up tapes containing as many as 24,000 Lois Lerner emails to be destroyed \u2013 he then failed to tell Congress about it in a timely manner. John Koskinen has been able to get away with stonewalling Congress, obstructing justice, and breaching the public trust. It\u2019s time that Congress held him accountable for his actions.\u201d<\/p>\n The motion was filed by Rep. John Fleming (R.-LA.)<\/a>, a House Freedom Caucus member, who opted to leave Congress at the end of this session in order to launch an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Senate.<\/p>\n Fleming\u2019s bill was originally filed in July 13, just before Congress left for its extended recess for the national party conventions and campaigning. Fleming, along with Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R.-KS)<\/a>,\u00a0was on the verge of\u00a0demanding a vote in September, but he was pressured the night before by the House Republican leadership. At the time, Fleming was promised a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee and the prospect of a vote after the election.<\/p>\n The impeachment bill made charged\u00a0Koskinen with four crimes:<\/p>\n\n