A Monday C-SPAN broadcast about Internal Revenue Service employees targeting conservative non-profits seeking tax-free status provided some interesting insight into the department’s inner workings.

Cleta Mitchell, an attorney representing political groups targeted by the IRS, was participating in the live broadcast when a self-professed “lowly IRS clerk” named Bill called in and validated her argument that conservative non-profits are treated unfairly.

“The comment I want to make is that I’m a lowly clerk at the IRS looking at your application for tax-free status. I go to your webpage to see the goals of your group and one of the goals of your group is to abolish the IRS,” Bob from Elizabeth, New Jersey told Mitchell in an exchange that was later posted to YouTube.

“You can bet every dollar you got I am going to go after you and target you … that’s just the way it is.”

Mitchell, of course, wasted no time in setting the record straight.

“It shouldn’t be that way, actually. And I don’t know anybody who said they wanted to get rid of the IRS, but if they did that’s their right,” she said. “That’s their First Amendment right to do that and a government employee is not supposed to superimpose his beliefs or his judgement or his concern about his job over those of a citizen who has a First Amendment right to express that opinion to abolish the IRS or to change the tax code,” she said.

“And many of these groups did say they wanted lower taxes, they wanted to repeal the 16th Amendment perhaps that establishes the income tax,” Mitchell continued. “That’s our constitutional right as citizens and a government employee works for us, and it’s not the government employee’s right or obligation – and it’s not permissible – for an IRS employee to say ‘Ew, I don’t like that group, so I am going to try to punish them.’

“That is viewpoint discrimination and it’s unconstitutional.”

The exchange, televised live on Monday, came ahead of a House Judiciary Committee hearing today on the possible impeachment of IRS Chief John Koskinen, who refused to show up to the hearing.

According to The Washington Post:

Koskinen, a fix-it executive with a record of turning around troubled companies, was not at the IRS when the agency’s tax-exempt division singled out tea party groups for extra scrutiny. But as Republicans investigating the case sought missing emails written by Lois Lerner, the since-retired official at the center of the scandal, they accused Koskinen of being less than truthful.

In articles of impeachment (Utah Rep. Jason) Chaffetz filed last October, he charged that Koskinen erased backup computer files containing thousands of emails written by Lerner. Koskinen told lawmakers his staff turned over all of the relevant emails, and when some were found to be missing, said they were unrecoverable.

A GOP House Judiciary Committee aide said the panel “provided Commissioner Koskinen with an opportunity to defend himself, and it is up to him to take advantage of that opportunity. He’s chosen not to do so publicly at this time and instead has chosen to submit a written statement.”

Chaffetz said in a statement, “Mr. Koskinen thumbing his nose at the Judiciary Committee is neither productive nor responsive.”