June 21, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging President Donald Trump to fire Henry Kerner from the Office of Special Counsel after it was revealed from the notes of a 2013 meeting with IRS officials that as a committee staffer for Sen. John McCain, Kerner reportedly advocated, “audit so many [501(c)(4) organizations] that it becomes financially ruinous”:
“It is stunning that Sen. John McCain’s former committee staffer colluded with the IRS’ Lois Lerner and other Obama officials to target political opponents, saying, ‘audit so many [501(c)(4) organizations] that it becomes financially ruinous.’ But what is even more shocking is that he is now a trusted member of the Trump administration, serving as the Special Counsel for the Office of Special Counsel. President Donald Trump should investigate these charges thoroughly. Kerner should be questioned if he was advocating Sen. McCain’s position, or his own.
“Either way, if the notes of the 2013 meeting are accurate, Kerner needs to be fired immediately. It is bad enough that career civil servants at the IRS engaged in political targeting of tea party groups. If true, it would be beyond outrageous that John McCain’s staff did the same, and it would be a complete breach of faith for President Trump to allow Kerner’s continued employment.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.
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