IRS Scandal: Top IRS Officials WERE Involved In Targeting Conservative Groups

New information has come to light that confirms what many already knew to be fact. Top IRS officials were involved with targeting conservative groups and, at the very least, knew about the information and didn’t release it to Congress.

The new information also confirms that it was not simply one lone IRS office, rather it was a concerted effort throughout the agency and took place in at least 3 different IRS offices.

An Associated Press report revealed:

Congress was not told tea party groups were being inappropriately targeted by the Internal Revenue Service, even after acting agency Chief Steven Miller had been briefed on the matter.

Miller was first informed on May, 3, 2012, that applications for tax-exempt status by tea party groups were inappropriately singled out for extra scrutiny, the IRS said Monday.

Also, The Washington Post reported Tuesday that IRS officials in Washington and at least two other offices were involved with investigating conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, making clear that the effort reached well beyond the branch in Cincinnati that was initially blamed.

The Post reported that IRS officials at the agency’s Washington headquarters sent queries to conservative groups asking about their donors and other aspects of their operations, while officials in the El Monte and Laguna Niguel offices in California sent similar questionnaires to tea-party-affiliated groups.

At least twice after the briefing, Miller wrote letters to members of Congress to explain the process of reviewing applications for tax-exempt status without disclosing that tea party groups had been targeted. On July 25, 2012, Miller testified before the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee, but again did not mention the additional scrutiny — despite being asked about it.

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Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., had raised concerns with the IRS about complaints that tea party groups were being harassed. Boustany specifically mentioned tea party groups in his inquiry.

But in a June 15, 2012, letter to Boustany, Miller said that when the IRS saw an increase in applications from groups that were involved in political activity, the agency “took steps to coordinate the handling of the case to ensure consistency.”

He added that agents worked with tax law experts “to develop approaches and materials that could be helpful to the agents working the cases.”

Miller did not mention that in 2011, those materials included a list of words to watch for, such as “tea party” and “patriot.” He also didn’t disclose that in January 2012, the criteria for additional screening was updated to include references to the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

Acting agency chief Steven Miller was not the only top IRS official who was aware of the targeting and decided to either lie about it or ignore it even after being questioned by Congress.

Lois G. Lerner, head of the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, was also aware of the targeting (and to her credit was actually the first one to eventually reveal it) but chose to leave out that fact when responding to Congressional inquires.

On June 29, 2011, Lois G. Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, learned at a meeting that groups were being targeted, according to a draft of the report by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.

At the meeting, Lerner was told that groups with “Tea Party,” ”Patriot” or “9/12 Project” in their names were being flagged for additional and often burdensome scrutiny, the report says. Lerner instructed agents to change the criteria for flagging groups “immediately.”

However, when Lerner responded to inquiries from the House oversight committee, she didn’t mention the fact that tea party groups had ever been targeted. Her responses included 45-page letters in May 2012 to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chairs the committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs a subcommittee.

Lerner also met twice with staff from the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee to discuss the issue, in March and in May 2012, according to a timeline constructed by committee staff. She didn’t mention at either meeting that conservative groups had been targeted, according to the timeline.

Essentially, top IRS officials were aware of the targeting for a long period of time in which they chose to hide the information from Congress and a concerned public.

The idea that this “scandal” only involves low level IRS agents is a complete and utter lie. TOP officials DID know about the targeting and the fact that they covered it up has lead many to believe that they were behind it from the beginning.

The chilling effect political targeting such as this could have on democracy and freedom in America cannot be understated. If we let any President get away with having an agency of the federal government target their political enemies during a crucial election then we open the door to the very real possibility of Soviet style purges and a full scale American police state.

Further Information on IRS Scandal:

IRS flagged Patriot Groups Beyond One Office
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/05/irs-flagged-patriot-groups-beyond.html

IRS tells pro life ministry to Promote Abortion
http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/irs-tells-pro-life-ministry-to-promote-abortion/

Claim:IRS asks political views of Tea Party Groups
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/irs-asked-political-views-tea-party-groups-claim

Is the IRS targeting a local news reporter?
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/05/kmov-anchor-the-irs-is-targeting-me-163945.html

Justice Department to Investigate IRS targeting
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/IRS-targets-Political-Groups/2013/05/14/id/504469

IRS Scandal reaches the White House
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/IRS-Political-Groups/2013/05/14/id/504339