Cummings vows to release full IRS transcripts by week’s end

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Sunday threatened to release full transcripts of testimony from Internal Revenue Service employees related to the agency’s targeting scandal by week’s end if Chairman Darrell Issa does not.

“I have asked Chairman Issa to release those transcripts to the public. I want every syllable of those transcripts to be released,” Cummings said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

{mosads}”Now I can tell you I understand that he agreed to release them a week ago,” Cummings continued. “Let me be clear, I wrote to Chairman Issa on Thursday and I wrote to him this morning: I want those transcripts to be released. But he’s the chairman of the committee, we’re not in power. Now, if he does not release them, I will. Period.”

Issa last week released excerpts from the transcripts and charged that they revealed that senior officials in Washington had a role in the IRS decision to apply heightened scrutiny on Tea Party groups seeking tax exemption.

Cummings last week dismissed those statements, saying the investigation was ongoing and pressing for the full transcripts to be released. 

Cummings said he was giving Issa one week to comply with his request before he pushed to release them himself.

“I will talk to the chairman again. I’ve written and begged him to release the transcripts. I want them released,” Cummings said. 

“The only thing I would say is I do want redactions of names of some people who are IRS employees but other than that I think every syllable to be released and I can tell you I’m willing to come on your show next week with the chairman with the transcripts next week.

“But if he doesn’t, I’ll release them next week,” Cummings vowed.