“Anything is better than lies and deceit!” – Leo Tolstoy

It’s been a rather stunning week.

It began with Denver fans sitting stunned as they watched the Seattle Seahawks totally decimate the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Then, the President stunningly said the IRS targeting scandal had “not even a smidgen of corruption”. That was news to lots of Americans.

Sadly, the President said this in the face of what has already been presented from numerous Congressional investigations and hearings, and likely without having been briefed on an unfinished, albeit what appears to be a highly politicized Justice Department investigation.

Then three days after the interview, at Wednesday’s Congressional oversight hearing, Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp presented a June 14, 2012,email between Ruth Madrigal, a career attorney at the U.S. Treasury Department and several top officials with the IRS in Washington.

In this rather stunning email, Madrigal wrote, “Don’t know who in your organizations is keeping tabs on c4s, but since we mentioned potentially addressing them (off – plan) in 2013, I’ve got my radar up and this seemed interesting…” Folks, in Washington speak, “off-plan” means hidden or secret from public view. So much for transparency.

This was followed by yesterday’s explosive IRS oversight hearing. Attorney Cleta Mitchell charged, “First, the IRS scandal is real. It’s not pretend, it’s real. Number two, the IRS scandal is not just a bone headed bunch of bureaucrats in some remote office contrary to what the President of the United States told the American people on Sunday. And, number 3, the IRS scandal is not over. It is continuing to this day. And, the Department of Justice Investigation is a sham. It is a NON-EXISTENT investigation.“

Mitchell then chronicled a series of what she described as “lies” during a stunning, opening statement.

The combative hearing culminated with several Members beating the drum for a Special Prosecutor. There’s only one word for this – stunning!

One wonders if the President now regrets making his “smidgen” declaration.

What has happened with the IRS scandals cannot be undone and deserves a full and unbiased, non-partisan investigation led by someone other than a major donor to the current President of the United States. And, today’s clarion call for a special prosecutor is a wise next step. Going forward, there is only one way to ensure that this kind of political terror never happens again.

HR 25, the FairTax Act of 2013, currently before Congress and the Committee on Ways and Means is the only legislation that provides simple and fair taxation for all Americans.

More importantly, HR 25 is the only legislation that defunds and disbands the IRS in its entirety.

It is time that Congress stop the perennial IRS theatrics – theatrics created by 74,608 pages of special interests driven tax code approved by Congress – and pass HR 25 / S 122.

Finally, Americans For Fair Taxation® is a key sponsor of the Western States Conservative Caucus in Phoenix, AZ onFebruary 22, 2014. Approximately 1,000 attendees will receive a FairTax lanyard, FairTax button, FairTax pocket card and FairTax briefing information in their registration packet. In addition, Neal Boortz will be a keynote speaker during the plenary session and will lead an exciting panel discussion, “The FairTax: An idea whose time has come,” which also features FairTax spokesperson Steve Hayes and retired AZ State Senator and longtime FairTax advocate Lori Klein.

Our AZ FairTax team, supported by grassroots FairTax leaders coming in from across the nation, will have a booth to share more information on the FairTax Plan with participants. This conference promises great educational opportunities for the FairTax. If you would like to join the FairTax team, you can register for the conference here.

I look forward to seeing you in Phoenix!