CHANGING TIMES – The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, which is becoming less liberal under new ownership, has become the latest voice to call for a special prosecutor to probe the IRS scandals.  This is a major story, not only because Americans are demanding the truth, but because an investigation could hobble a Democratic presidential nominee in 2016.  From The Hill: 

President Obama’s administration should appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS’s improper scrutiny of Tea Party groups, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune said Sunday.

The IRS said this month that former agency official Lois Lerner’s computer crashed in 2011, leaving them unable to recover an untold number of her emails over a two-year period.

That loss of emails, the Star-Tribune said, was “eye-rollingly convenient,” and showed that Attorney General Eric Holder should appoint a special prosecutor.

“The IRS expects Americans to hold onto receipts and other documents for years,” the paper’s editorial said, echoing an argument from House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

“The agency’s lackadaisical data management suggests a higher bar for the public than agency officials. That the IRS dallied in telling Congress about the lost e-mails raises further questions about what happened.”

Congressional investigations into the IRS have intensified in the two weeks since the IRS told lawmakers about Lerner’s missing emails. Lerner, the former chief of an IRS division overseeing tax-exempt groups, is the central figure in the controversy.

Republicans have increasingly called for a special prosecutor in recent months. Top lawmakers in the party were skeptical of a special counsel was needed shortly after the controversy broke in May, 2013, in no small part because Holder is charged with appointing the prosecutor.

COMMENT:  Of course, that is clearly a problem.  Holder might well appoint a "special prosecutor" who is in the vest pocket of the Obama administration.  Or, he might "study" the matter for two years. 

However, it is also possible that a special prosecutor, once appointed, might well go rogue, worried about his own reputation, and actually do a competent job.  The Dems dread this.  I suspect they realize what would be uncovered.

June 30, 2014