IRS Chief Koskinen a Major
Democratic Donor for 4 Decades
Friday, 27 Jun 2014 12:00 PM
By Melanie Batley
IRS Commissioner John
Koskinen, appointed by President Barack Obama
to steer the agency through the numerous investigations into the IRS targeting scandal, has donated close to $100,000 to
Democrats and the party's organizations for more than four decades.
Koskinen donations include a total of
$7,300 to the campaigns to elect Obama to the White House; $19,000 to the Democratic National Committee from 1988 to 2008; $3,000 to
the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; and $2,000 to the Democratic
Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to official records of political
contributions, with 1979 being the earliest date on record.
The 48th chief of the IRS has also donated
to every Democratic candidate for president since 1980, and has given $3,800 to
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her various political campaigns.
His most recent contribution was in
February 2013 to Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, 10 months before his
nomination on Dec. 23 was confirmed by the Senate after Democrats cut off a
Republican-led filibuster.
In an interview with CNN
Thursday, "Situation Room" host Wolf Blitzer noted that Koskinen is a
Democrat and the concerns that have been raised that his party affiliation may
preclude him from approaching the scandal objectively.
Koskinen responded, "I've never been
a partisan operative or political operative," but confirmed that he has
contributed to campaigns for "the last 40 or 50 years."
He added, "I was actually asked by
the [George W.] Bush administration to come in and work on Freddie Mac,"
where he initially served as nonexecutive chairman, and later CEO, CFO, and
chief operating officer.
Unlike the IRS, which is a government
agency, Freddie Mac is a government-sponsored public company.
Koskinen also served under President Bill
Clinton as chairman of the President's Council on Y2K.
Koskinen's earliest contribution on record
was a $1,000 donation to Gary Hart, then a Democratic candidate for Senate in Colorado and future
two-time presidential candidate.
Koskinen came under heavy fire last week
at a House Ways
and Means Committee hearing during which Wisconsin GOP Rep. Paul Ryan blasted
him for the disappearance of former IRS official Lois Lerner's emails and the
destruction of her hard drive just 10 days after committee chairman Dave Camp
wrote to Lerner's boss asking for the information.
Ohio GOP Rep. Mike Turner also was
critical of Koskinen, telling him that his personal integrity and that of the
agency were on the line because he had not contacted the FBI to investigate the
loss of the emails.
Democrats, however, rushed to his defense
and apologized to Koskinen for the way he was treated by Republicans during his
testimony.
Massachusetts Rep. John Tierney, a 17-year
veteran of the House said, "I don't think I've seen a display of this kind
of disrespect in all the time I've been here in Congress, and it's unfortunate
that anyone should have to be subjected to it."
Other Democrats have also staunchly
defended Koskinen, the Daily Caller reported. California Rep. Xavier Becerra
told Koskinen, "This hearing has been conducted as less of a hearing then
it might have been an inquisition. You deserve better. You certainly are obligated
to give truthful answers, and we appreciate your trying to."
Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind said Koskinen was
a "public servant who by all accounts is a model of integrity, honesty,
and professionalism," and accused the committee of being "desperate
to find any type of evidence that may point to a cover-up that does not
exist."
And Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal said,
"You have an individual here who has a distinguished career, who served in
Republican and Democratic administrations, coupled with the fact he took an
oath today — unless those here didn't hear him take the oath or witnessed him
take the oath, and then have [Ryan] suggest [to] him 'I don't believe you.'
That is isn't the way this committee has functioned in the past."
Koskinen admitted to Blitzer that the loss
of the emails looked "suspicious" and that he considered it a
"serious matter."
John Koskinen
John A.
Koskinen is the commissioner for the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), and a director at the AES Corporation.
Note: Charles
O. Rossotti was the commissioner for the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), is the chairman for the AES
Corporation, and a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank).
Philip A.
Odeen was the chairman for the AES Corporation,
and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank).
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace (think tank).
George Soros
is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations,
a board member at the International Crisis Group,
and was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace (think tank), and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Moises Naim
is a senior associate, International Economics Program for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a director
at the AES Corporation, and is a board member
at the International Crisis Group.
Henrietta
Holsman Fore is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think
tank), and a
member of the Belizean Grove.
Deborah
L. Wince-Smith is a member of the Belizean Grove,
and was a member of the IRS Oversight Board.
IRS
Oversight Board is a citizen’s board for the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
Henry A. Kissinger
is a member of the Bohemian Club, a
director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was a lifetime
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank),
and a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
Walter
Isaacson is the president & CEO for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and was the chairman & CEO
for CNN.
Philip A.
Odeen is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank), and was the chairman for the AES
Corporation.
Charles
O. Rossotti is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank), the chairman for the AES
Corporation, and was the commissioner for the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
John A.
Koskinen is a director at the AES Corporation,
and the commissioner for the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS).
Robert
E. Hannegan was the commissioner for the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), the chairman for the Democratic
National Committee, and a co-owner for the St. Louis
Cardinals.
Ahmad Rashad
was a player for the St. Louis Cardinals,
is Barack Obama’s occasional golf partner,
and is dating Valerie B. Jarrett.
Valerie
B. Jarrett is dating Ahmad Rashad, a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the
senior adviser for the Barack Obama
administration.
Rahm I.
Emanuel is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama
administration, and a director at Freddie Mac.
John A.
Koskinen was the chairman for Freddie Mac, is
a director at the AES Corporation,
and the commissioner for the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS).
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