Jason Chaffetz on Laurence O'Donnell

[Ekrub]

He had Jason chaffetz on tonight and rightfully called him out for it. (nevermind of course all the democrats who voted for it.

Then he accused chaffetz of tax evasion for sleeping in his office and not reporting it to the IRS as a form of income. He may be onto something with that but spending all the time he did trying to grill Chaffet for something that is a relative non-issue I found ridiculous. I don't have a tube, maybe somebody can find one

[Zatch]

Here's a video but it isn't the whole interview. Just the tax part.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/lawrence-o%E2%80%99donnell-accuses-rep-chaffetz-of-evading-taxes-by-sleeping-in-his-office/

I felt bad for Chaffetz. O'Donnell almost made him cry. :D

edit:

The full interview:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41633191#41633191

[AZKing]

I hate O'Donnell with a burning passion... almost as much as I hate Ed Schultz. Schultz always reminds me of a MSNBC version of Bill O Reilly.

[Zatch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viu_bBsJT-E

[Zatch]

Someone needs to post the full interview.

[Cowlesy]

To Lawrence O'Donnell

http://flipthatbird.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/johnny-cash.jpg

[Bman]

Chaffetz needs to learn how to say "Fuck Off".

[TheeJoeGlass]

Chaffetz needs to learn how to say "Fuck Off".

Sounds like someone needs to tell Chaffetz to fuck off.

[Bman]

Sounds like someone needs to tell Chaffetz to fuck off.

I'm sure, but not for sleeping in his office and then not reporting it as earned income. Do you report your living arrangements as earned income? If so under what pretense.

[dbill27]

lawrence o'donnel is just trying to make a name for himself. Unfortunately this appeals to far to many morons in the u.s

[Brett85]

I would've just walked off the set.

[low preference guy]

I would've asked Larry O': I noticed that you're not eating ice cream right now. Will you report the additional income you obtained for not eating ice cream to the IRS? Do you do everything you can to make more money?

[Zatch]

Finally. The full interview:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41633191#41633191

[payme_rick]

I just caught the tax-evasion part of the deal... Wtf was o'donnel trying to get at? Is there something in the tax code saying you must report where you stay and what you pay for stay while out of town on business? Because he's basically out of town on business and as far as I know is not required to pay for housing/room while out of town on business...

Only thing I would argue is how much extra electricity/etc... does he use while staying there, since it is on the taxpayers' dollar...

If o"donnel would only use that much energy on real liberty-effecting issues...

[daviddee]

...

[dannno]

No. He got what he deserved.

Chaffetz is turning, quickly, into a scum bag.

What?! I disagree with him on the Patriot Act thing, but he's pretty good on a lot of other issues.. and he's absolutely right about this one, who the fuck cares if they sleep on the couch in their office?!

Edit: Chaffetz said he would have ultimately voted "No" on the Patriot Act as is, his vote was simply to get it to the floor so they could make changes.. Ron Paul, on the other hand, just wanted to sunset the provisions right there and then. That's good to know.

[BamaAla]

What the hell is this guy's deal?

[daviddee]

...

[low preference guy]

I would guarantee you that if John Boehner went up to him and said, "Hey, stinky, we need you to take a $50K a year pay cut to compensate for sleeping in your office." He would stop doing it that day...

Boehner doesn't pay Jason's salary out of his pocket and can't set such rules.

[specsaregood]

1. He is paid (overpaid) $174K a year
2. He chooses to stink up an office (that is the property of the people of this country) - Lincoln Bedroom?
3. He benefits by doing this. The people of this country do not benefit from this.

So, he should stop touting it as a "great thing" of "fiscal responsibility" when he is merely milking the American people out of more money.

Want to impress me? Take a 50% pay cut...

I would guarantee you that if John Boehner went up to him and said, "Hey, stinky, we need you to take a $50K a year pay cut to compensate for sleeping in your office." He would stop doing it that day...

They do have a locker room and showers for the reps to use.

[daviddee]

...

[dannno]

He isn't costing the taxpayers one additional fucking dime. Give me a break.

[specsaregood]

So he saves on not having a water and laundry bill also.

It means he shouldn't be stinky. I for one support frugality.

[daviddee]

...

[dannno]

We have a guy who has and who will continue to vote "No" on the Patriot Act as long as it is unconstitutional, a practicing fiscal and constitutional conservative, pretty good on military, is for another investigation into the events of 9/11..... and you are mad because you want him to pay more taxes?

[daviddee]

...

[dannno]

What I think you're not considering is that his office is empty at night anyway.. it's not like somebody else is or could be using it to sleep, it's HIS office.. If he had an office with an attached bedroom and bathroom, then that would be built in to his W-2.. but no, he's camping out in his office.. that isn't nearly as nice as having your own actual place, it's a sacrifice. It doesn't cost anybody anything, I don't understand the problem.

[college4life]

no it's not costing us money.

of all the things wrong today you are worried about this? what a farce

[low preference guy]

An apartment/condo would cost $50K a year.

He is reaping $50K in fringe benefits... that he is not paying taxes on.

I am not endorsing the tax code, but he is doing this to chisel more money on top of his $174K salary. This is costing the US tax payers money.

I'm pretty sure they're allowed to use their offices any damn time they want.

If he didn't use his office during the day, he would also save taxpayers money. Why aren't you demanding that?

[daviddee]

...

[college4life]

you are so vitriolic, like you have a personal vendetta against him. many people in congress sleep in their office?

this is the least of my concerns and should be pretty low on all of our list of worries in this day and age

[low preference guy]

I will keep this thread book marked and we will review in 1 year.

He showed his true colors recently... Patriot Act, voting FOR military spending, etc.

We will see...

I hope this IRS thing gets legs and then you will see his true colors come to the surface quicker. As when they make him cough up the taxes you will see him haul ass out of the office (once he can not longer fleece it for money).

Even if he turns out to be a Barack Obama in a year, it won't affect the arguments some of us are making, because they have nothing to do with his votes.

If he didn't use his office during the day, he would also save taxpayers money. Why aren't you demanding that?

[specsaregood]

If he didn't use his office during the day, he would also save taxpayers money. Why aren't you demanding that?

Actually, I could get behind that effort.

[daviddee]

...

[college4life]

i don't overlook anything. I'm more worried about the fed monetizing trillions in debt, the wars, the fact that 45 million americans are on food stamps and spending billions on foreign aid than some random congressman crashing in his office every night.

[dannno]

Didn't he say in the interview that by approving military spending X that he voted for (or in essence voted for by voting "No"? I dunno, that part was confusing), that the result would be that it would avoid higher future costs from another company for these parts and it would end up saving them money?

He also explained that he would have voted "No" on the Patriot Act, the "Yes" vote he made was really to put the whole thing up before committee, it sounds like he could have been trying to shoot the moon and sunset more provisions.

Anybody else look into this stuff?

[daviddee]

...

[daviddee]

...

[dannno]

I think this will help you more:

http://www.google.com/search?q=utah+defense+contractors&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

:eek:

Tough district.

[low preference guy]

You can not turn a blind eye to these "little things".

What little thing are you talking about? Reps. can use their offices any damn time they want. There are no restrictions on the hours they can use them. You're making a fool of yourself.

[daviddee]

...

[daviddee]

...

[low preference guy]

Patriot Act, More Military Spending, etc etc.

The tax evasion, under the guise of "fiscal responsibility", is just a sleeze move.

Then you're setting up a straw man. We are defending him from the accusations you are making that he is doing something wrong for sleeping in his office. Then you accuse us of "turning a blind eye" to the patriot act, military spending, etc, when none of us mentioned those things. That's a pretty sleeze move.

[Eric21ND]

So far he's been a big disappointment.

O'Donnel is an asshat.

[Chieppa1]

Anyone he has to scream "I"M A SOCIALIST" just to get ratings doesn't deserve my time. Why do we even bother?

[teacherone]

i thought sleeping in the office saved tax-payer money?

isn't he refusing a housing stipend or something by doing this?

if not...what's the point?

[Slutter McGee]

An apartment/condo would cost $50K a year.

He is reaping $50K in fringe benefits... that he is not paying taxes on.

I am not endorsing the tax code, but he is doing this to chisel more money on top of his $174K salary. This is costing the US tax payers money.

No you are not endorsing the tax code. You are defending it.

Slutter McGee

[KAYA]

An apartment/condo would cost $50K a year.

He is reaping $50K in fringe benefits... that he is not paying taxes on.

I am not endorsing the tax code, but he is doing this to chisel more money on top of his $174K salary. This is costing the US tax payers money.

So based that logic, everyone who car pools should claim the savings (or as you say "benefits") they are receiving by not spending more fuel to get to work as income. That's just retarded.

[KAYA]

How about this one. The post office is in the red and losing money, so if I use the US mail to send a letter it actually cost the tax payers. So, should I claim the saving received by sending mail on the cheap via the post office verses spending more using FedEx as income? According to Larry O and DavidDee I guess I should.

[specsaregood]

i thought sleeping in the office saved tax-payer money?
isn't he refusing a housing stipend or something by doing this?
if not...what's the point?

They don't get a stipend. BUT they do get a $3000 additional tax deduction for housing allowance.
Related article:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ombudsman-blog/2009/06/how_seeds_of_truth_can_sometim.html

Excerpts:


How Seeds of Truth Can Sometimes Take Root
By Andy Alexander
Many newspapers, including The Post, profiled Mark Sanford last week after the married South Carolina Republican governor revealed that he had been having an affair with a woman in Argentina.

The Post’s story said that during his six years in Congress during the 1990s, Sanford had “turned down his housing allowance and slept on a cot in his Capitol Hill office” as a symbolic way of showing his commitment to frugality with tax dollars. Many other news organizations reported the same thing, and have been doing so for years.

But James Currie, a professor at the National Defense University who has taught a course on Congress for 18 years, wasn’t aware of lawmakers being entitled to a housing allowance. When he read this in The Post, he checked with the House Administration committee, which oversees member benefits, and was told it doesn’t exist. I also checked with the committee and was told by press director Kyle Anderson: “There is not a separate housing allowance” and one did not exist during Sanford’s three terms in the House.

The question of the housing allowance is a mere footnote when compared to the blockbuster disclosure that has thrown Sanford’s political future into question. But it’s a good example of how the seeds of truth can sometimes take root and grow into firmly established “facts.” In this case, Sanford’s refusal to accept a “housing allowance” has become folklore and often has been cited to support his image of a tight-fisted fiscal conservative.


and


It may be that Sanford was referring to a $3,000 tax deduction that members of Congress could apply for as a way of mitigating the cost of maintaining a home away from home while the House was in session. Unlike a $3,000 grant -- much like a per diem -- a deduction would reduce overall tax liability. The true savings to taxpayers would depend on whether Sanford actually claimed it on a tax return. And the actual benefit to Sanford would have depended on his overall tax burden.

[LinusVanPelt]

My only beef with Chaffetz is that he didn't get back in O'Donnel's face and confront him with the fact that, if that is indeed in the tax code, it's absolutely ridiculous. Illegal to sleep on a couch in your office?? I abhor double-standards as much as anybody, but give me a break. $170K/year isn't chump change by any means, but O'Donnell was acting like this guy was some kind of tycoon. There are first-year associates fresh out of law school who earn $150k/year. I guarantee that O'Donnell makes more than that himself (for doing absoutely nothing) and feels no obligation to call the IRS hotline when he falls asleep with his face in some key grip's lap after work.

I kept thinking "If only somehow they could both lose."

[Brett85]

I will keep this thread book marked and we will review in 1 year.

He showed his true colors recently... Patriot Act, voting FOR military spending, etc.

We will see...

I hope this IRS thing gets legs and then you will see his true colors come to the surface quicker. As when they make him cough up the taxes you will see him haul ass out of the office (once he can not longer fleece it for money).

He voted for defense spending, not military spending.

[LinusVanPelt]

I am dumbfounded by some of the reponses I am reading here. Any so-called supporter of Ron Paul should be clear on one thing: the IRS is always wrong, on everything, no matter what. It should not even exist. And I am not being sarcastic at all: among the long list of downright evil federal agencies, the IRS is at the top, bar none. I wouldn't side with the IRS against Attila the freaking Hun.

[Cowlesy]

I will keep this thread book marked and we will review in 1 year.

He showed his true colors recently... Patriot Act, voting FOR military spending, etc.

We will see...

I hope this IRS thing gets legs and then you will see his true colors come to the surface quicker. As when they make him cough up the taxes you will see him haul ass out of the office (once he can not longer fleece it for money).

http://bsaidso.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/facepalm_picard2.jpg?w=360&h=240

[KAYA]

I wonder if O'Donnell will be compelled to question Nancy Pelosi on her use of a military jet to get her home. Anyone think Larry O gives a $hit if she claimed the saving she incurred traveling on the tax payers dime in lieu of traveling at her own expense?