[Buzzcook]

Unlike Benghazi these are real scandals. They should be investigated to the fullest.

But don't get your hopes up about this leading to the fall of the government.

The basis of the procurement of phone records is a claim by the government that, failing getting a subpoena through regular channel, a warrant can be issued on the signature of the AG.
That line of reasoning is the same used by the Bush administration for by passing the FISA Court and other governmental over reaches. The Bush administration wasn't held to account for its action and in some cases it was upheld by the courts.

Using the IRS for political purposes happened under Nixon, Reagan, and the second Bush. Afaik there weren't any political or legal consequences.

At any rate I would like to see a special prosecutor appointed for each case. In both cases I'd like to see that a prosecutor would have a wider mandate than the specific case. They should investigate all cases of government bypassing the courts and all instances of using the IRS as a political tool.

Powerful institutions will continue to abuse their powers as long as no one goes to jail.