On Monday, Levin's office posted 15 redacted BOLOs, and most of them list "Progressives" as well as "Tea Party." While the inspector general's audit said the BOLOs targeted Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny, it made no mention of progressive groups. They were used by IRS agents as a guide as they sorted through thousands of applications for tax-exempt status. "We reviewed all cases that the IRS identified as potential political cases and did not limit our audit to allegations related to the Tea Party."Īt issue are a series of spreadsheets known at the IRS as "Be On the Lookout" notices, or BOLOs. The letter now asserts that the scope was much broader. The spokeswoman told NPR, which called back to verify the accuracy of the quotes, that the inspector general was only asked to look at the targeting of Tea Party groups. The audit, released last month, set off a political firestorm by charging that the IRS systematically targeted Tea Party groups, subjecting them to excessively long wait times and unnecessary questioning about their donors and their beliefs. The letter ends by saying, "Many of these press reports are not accurate." But notably, agency officials aren't claiming they were misquoted. On Tuesday the spokeswoman said the treatment of progressive groups was outside the scope of the audit requested by House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif. Sander Levin, D-Mich., the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, directly contradicts statements made Tuesday to NPR and a number of other media outlets by a spokeswoman for the inspector general. Russell George explained in a letter released Thursday morning that investigators knew all along "progressives" were listed in documents used by IRS agents to screen applications.īut "we found no indication," he wrote, "that 'Progressives' was a term used to refer cases for scrutiny for political campaign intervention." Whatever you call it, the IRS inspector general now has a different account of what investigators knew about the ideologies of the groups that underwent extra scrutiny as they sought tax-exempt status. Russell George are sworn in before a full House Ways and Means Committee hearing in May.Ĭhanging its story. Outgoing acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Steve Miller (right) and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |