Arrogance: It’s the only way to explain it. Three months ago we first found out that the IRS had been targeting tea party and other conservative organizations. Yesterday we learned that despite the anger and protests from both sides of the aisle the IRS is still targeting conservative organizations.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp revealed that an agent involved in reviewing tax-exempt applications from conservative groups told a committee investigator that the agency is still at it.
In closed door testimony before the House Ways & Means Committee, the unidentified IRS agent said requests for special tax status from Tea Party groups is being forced into a special “secondary screening” because the agency has yet to come up with new guidance on how to judge the tax status of the groups.
In a transcript from the committee provided to Secrets, a Ways & Means investigator asked: “If you saw — I am asking this currently, if today if a Tea Party case, a group — a case from a Tea Party group came in to your desk, you reviewed the file and there was no evidence of political activity, would you potentially approve that case? Is that something you would do?”
The agent said, “At this point I would send it to secondary screening, political advocacy.”
The committee staffer then said, “So you would treat a Tea Party group as a political advocacy case even if there was no evidence of political activity on the application. Is that right?” The agent admitted, “Based on my current manager’s direction, uh-huh.”
Camp called the renewed targeting of Tea Party groups “outrageous.”
Added a committee aide, “In plain English, the IRS is still targeting Tea Party cases.”
Below is the Ways and Means Committee transcript of the IRS official’s testimony:
Wednesday, August 1, 2013
Committee: Today, currently, how do you analyze advocacy cases. If, for example, Tea Party of Arkansas came in today, how would you handle it?
IRS agent: Well, the BOLO list doesn’t exist anymore.
Committee: Sure.
IRS: If a political advocacy case came in today, I would give it — or talk about it to my manager because right now we really don’t have any direction or we haven’t had any for the last month and a half.
Committee: If you saw — I am asking this currently, if today if a Tea Party case, a group — a case from a Tea Party group came in to your desk, you reviewed the file and there was no evidence of political activity, would you potentially approve that case? Is that something you would do?
IRS agent: At this point I would send it to secondary screening, political advocacy.
Committee: So you would treat a Tea Party group as a political advocacy case even if there was no evidence of political activity on the application. Is that right?
IRS agent: Based on my current manager’s direction, uh-huh.
Don’t these folks in the Obama administration ever learn? Are they too disorganized to change the policy? Are they too arrogant to realize the problem exists, or do they just not care? It’s inconceivable that three months have passed and the IRS is still acting as a political tool for this president.
