When KMOV General Manager Mark Pimentel and News Director Sean McLaughlin fired me .. they said that because I wrote a Facebook post about the IRS … I had ruined my credibility.
They said that I posted a political viewpoint about the IRS … so I no longer could be believed when I reported on the IRS.
First, the IRS is not supposed to be political .. so how could I post a political view about the IRS?
Now, the story that started everything … continues to grow.
Originally, we were told “rogue agents” of the IRS were targeting Conservative groups and individuals.
Then, we were told that the IRS would address those violations and assist in any investigations.
What’s happened since?
Friday, the IRS said it “lost” an untold number of emails when former IRS officer Lois Lerner’s computer “crashed” in 2011; Lerner used to head the division that handles applications for tax-exempt status such as those Conservative groups.
If I were still working under GM Pimentel … I guess that I would not be allowed to report that story … because I had “lost credibility”.
Today, the IRS admits it also “lost” emails from half a dozen IRS workers who had their computers crash. Those workers included Nikole Flax who was chief of staff to Lerner’s Boss … then Deputy Commissioner Steven Miller.
Again, if still working under KMOV GM Pimentel … apparently, I would not be trusted to report that story.
Two lawmakers are now asking the Justice Department to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the IRS …something Attorney General Eric Holder has declined to do.
In a joint statement, the lawmakers said, “It looks like the American people were lied to and the IRS tried to cover up the fact it conveniently lost key documents in this investigation. …. The White House promised full cooperation, the commissioner promised full access to Lois Lerner emails and now the agency claims it cannot produce those materials and they’ve known for months they couldn’t do this.”
The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee says … “It is unfortunate that the IRS experienced equipment failure that resulted in several computers crashing and some email data being lost from Lois Lerner’s hard drive between 2009 and 2011.”
Unfortunate? Unfortunate?
That is not unfortunate … that is a clear case of a cover-up.
I’m not buying any story of an “unfortunate” incident.
Now, maybe that is what KMOV GM Mark Pimentel feared …that I would continue to report on the IRS and the focused targeting of Conservative groups and individuals … AND … report on the cover-up.
If that’s what Pimentel feared, he is right … because I would be in the newsroom every day, fighting to make sure that story stayed a high priority.
Well, I’m no longer under his thumb, and I will report on every such incident of IRS abuse and cover-up.
For those who think the loss of all these emails is … just an “unfortunate” crash of more than half a dozen computers … well, try telling the IRS that you had an “unfortunate” computer crash and lost all your receipts that would reduce your taxes.
** Be watching later this week for news about my return to the St. Louis airwaves.**
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