Although insisting it was not done out of political bias, an official at the IRS acknowledged that during the 2012 election season, they deliberately targeted the applications for tax-exempt status by any group that had the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their title.
The Washington Post is reporting that Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversees tax-exempt groups said that between 2010 and 2012, about 75 groups were selected for “extra screening”. She claimed the tax-exempt unit in Cincinnati selected groups with those particular names as a kind of “shorthand” because of the proliferation of these groups around that time.
“That’s absolutely inappropriate and not the way we ought to do things,” Lerner said in a briefing with reporters. “They didn’t do it out of any political bias.”
She was later unable to give reporters any examples of similar treatment of non-conservative groups during the same time period.
It is not known whether or not any of the IRS employees involved have been disciplined, but Lerner claimed that new policies have been put in place to prohibit this kind of screening in the future.
Her apology did little to comfort conservative groups or Republican lawmakers who have long complained about unfair treatment from the IRS.
“I call on the White House to conduct a transparent, government-wide review aimed at assuring the American people that these thuggish practices are not underway at the IRS or elsewhere in the administration against anyone, regardless of their political views,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday. “An apology won’t put this issue to rest.”
“The IRS has demonstrated the most disturbing, illegal and outrageous abuse of government power,” said Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, one of the largest tea party organizations. “This deliberate targeting and harassment of tea party groups reaches a new low in illegal government activity and overreach.”
Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) is calling for an investigation into this unlawful activity by the IRS to determine who knew about it and what they did – or did not – do about it.
“Today’s disturbing revelations that the IRS targeted conservative groups in the last election raises many questions that Congress should demand answers to,” echoed Family Research Council president Tony Perkins.
“Where did the IRS obtain their target list? What actions have been taken to remove these individuals from their position of public trust which they have clearly violated? What steps have been put in place to ensure that this does not happen again?
“This is further evidence of the environment of hostility and corruption that has been fostered by the Obama Administration. Nothing is more troubling than the government of the people, for the people, being used against the people,” concluded Perkins.
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