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| BIG BROTHER IRS targeting of conservative groups intolerable - Obama |
The treasury department's inspector general will release a report on the matter this week
US President Barack Obama has said the federal tax agency's targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny was "intolerable and inexcusable".
He said those who carried out the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) actions would be held responsible.
Mr Obama spoke after a treasury department report placed the blame on "ineffective management" at the agency.
The US attorney general earlier ordered an FBI inquiry into the IRS conduct before the 2012 presidential election.
Eric Holder told a news conference that agents would determine if any laws had been broken.
The actions of tax officers, if not criminal, were "certainly outrageous and unacceptable", Mr Holder added.
'Inappropriate criteria'
The IRS had used key words such as "Tea Party" and "Patriot" to subject applications by groups seeking tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny.
On Tuesday evening, Mr Obama said in a statement on the treasury department's investigation: "The report's findings are intolerable and inexcusable.
"The IRS must apply the law in a fair and impartial way, and its employees must act with utmost integrity. This report shows that some of its employees failed that test."
He spoke as a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report found that senior IRS officials had told inspectors the decision to focus on Tea Party and other groups based upon their names or policy positions was not influenced by any individual or organisation outside the agency.
But it found managers had allowed "inappropriate criteria" to be developed and stay in place for more than 18 months, resulting in "substantial delays" in processing applications for tax-exempt status, and requests for "unnecessary information", such as lists of past and future donors.
Of the 296 total applications reviewed by TIGTA, 108 were approved, 28 were withdrawn by the applicants, and 160 were still open, the report said.
In response, the acting IRS Commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities, Joseph Grant, said: "We believe the front line career employees that made the decisions acted out of a desire for efficiency and not out of any political or partisan view point."
'Targeting political enemies'
Mr Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, said earlier that no-one at the White House had known about the matter until lawyers were told several weeks ago TIGTA would publish a report.
At least three Congressional committees are planning hearings into the matter.
The House Ways and Means committee will hold a hearing on Friday. The Senate finance and investigations committees have also said they will hold hearings.
"This was a targeting of the president's political enemies, effectively, and lies about it during the election year so that it wasn't discovered until afterwards," senior Republican Congressman Darrell Issa told CBS on Tuesday.
Two high-profile Republican governors called on President Obama to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether any laws were broken.
"This is big brother come to life and a witch hunt to prevent Americans from exercising their first amendment [free speech] rights," Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Scott Walker of Wisconsin wrote.
Ahead of the 2012 presidential election, conservative groups complained to the IRS and to members of Congress that their applications for tax-exempt status were being held up.
Some groups have said they were asked to provide lists of donors and volunteers, statements of their activities, and lists of legislators they had contacted.
Tell me the difference between the Nazis and the Obama administration.
ReplyDeleteTell me the difference between Obama and Bush the 2nd. Obama is more of a hawk than Bush.
DeleteSo how long are we going to tolerate this in incompetent jerk launch him ASAP!
ReplyDeleteThe same European Countries that gave way to Germany in WWII all wanted us to vote for Wright's Obama. Thanks OShea, Hurley, Cunningham and Burke.
ReplyDeleteyou narrow back liberals with your side deals with the city did this and now you got the magic nigger and the jew mayor and you are standing in teaffic with a finger in your ass asking what happened?????
ReplyDeletethe Nazi's would never have allowed a community organizer TO become the furor.
ReplyDeleteI guess Americans are simple folks.
At least Chicago would never use inspectors to target businesses that do not support o'shea
ReplyDeleteExactly - this is Chicago thug politics on steroids. The architects are all the radicals like Axelrod, Obumsted, Jarrett. They all are true radicals. It is so shocking that we don't want to believe how corrupt they truly are. Thanks O'Shea and all his "Proud Union Home" useful idiots for supporting and empowering this jacka**. The media have been Obama's enablers since day one. He is their Frankenstein monster.
DeleteLets see : over 300 specifically conservative leaning and pro-Jewish groups singled out for abuse by the IRS. That is a fact. And if you think such a large scale and systematic campaign was undertaken without the direction of the Obama campaign, then you are a hopeless fool. No low level person would risk their job without the tacit approval at least , if not more likely the specific direction of the higher ups. Axelrod knew ! Obama knew ! Holder knew ! Biden knew ! This is sick.
john brennan from ireland here,glad to see you narrow back jackeens getting what you deserve.now lets see you with your green made in china hats and your silliness about grannma from galway. its all water under the bridge for the lot of you and not soon enough,and please dont send us anymore of your fat bloated people here with your south side irish nonsense......
ReplyDeleteWhat does this have to do with anything on this post ? Sounds like you finally came home from guzzling syrupy beer in the land where the bars never close and a full "weeks work" translates into about "bout half a day - then off to the bar" to drink yourself into a stupor. The Americans like to go visit Ireland it is true. But they don't want to live in that perpetually misty, boggy, damp island. We mainly go there like people might go to visit a zoo.
DeleteTrust me Mr. Brennan, we have no real interest in your country other than amusement. That is why our forefathers left it. Last I heard you dingbats in Dublin were getting ready to see the largest Mosque in the west being built. So who is dumber, really ? P.S. You kicked the Brits out nearly 100 years ago ! So what is your excuse for the last 100 years ?
Obama is a crook. He is Nixon on Steroids !! He KNEW because there is one point that ties all these scandals together. HIS RE-ELECTION. Benghazai was covered up to prevent a scandal just before the election. The IRS intimidated and harassed Conservative groups (now over 500 total) in order to weaken or eliminate them as a force against - HIS RE-ELECTION. The AP wiretaps were done to intimidate the press and find out in advance how they would cover the campaign in order to help HIS RE-ELECTION. This is criminal behavior. Tell the media to ask a Obama what HE KNEW AND WHEN HE KNEW IT.
ReplyDeleteWhether liberal or conservative, the IRS is too powerful and way out of control. GE and Goldman Sachs pay not taxes, while regular people are targeted. It is an organization of threat and fear. If you have undergone a background check, you would know that there is NO interface with IRS. It is too powerful; it is too unaccountable. And, the irony, is that it is not this tea thing. It is the institution of an organization way too powerful, way too unaccountable, and regular people are the target.
ReplyDeleteTarget . . .Wall St.? Oh, you are controlled by Wall St. as an agency of Treas. hmph. This stuff, stealing homes, not paying taxes, targeting individuals and (pathetic) conservative groups has to end.
It is big government. THIS is big government.
Where is our resident Marxist - old MPots? Strangely silent it would appear. By the way it is now over 500 conservative groups targeted, as well as many many of the major donors to Romney, and even Franklin Graham ! Oh don't forget the Jewish groups, and it would seem anyone who might ACTIVELY oppose Obama in the campaign. Just another example of the Chicago Mob Democrat Machine taken to Washington. The purpose of ALL these actions was to get people to "shut up and sit down". This is the M.O. of the Chicago Democrats, liberals, Socialists and Communists since time began. Anti Democracy. Shut up or get audited. By the way we are listening in on your phone messages!! And why? To stop a leak? For national security? More like to find out how we can blackmail, intimidate and or silence anyone in the media. Holder is a criminal - period !
ReplyDeleteIt IS this "tea thing". What part of 500 conservative (anti Obama groups) being targeted don't you understand ? that is the entire point of this scandal. They turned the IRS into a re- election machine for Obama. And regarding the wealthy being exempt from this harassment? - There were MANY wealthy people and organizations targeted by the IRS during this witch hunt. They were again, ALL conservative people. If you are a liberal mega billionaire like Google et al...no worries.
ReplyDelete“The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation. Sarah Hall Ingram served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012. But Ingram has since left that part of the IRS and is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office, the IRS confirmed to ABC News today.” ABC News......well that is reassuring!
ReplyDeletesad to say this guy brennan is on to something, was in ireland last year and was with a busload of americans from mid west and new york,constant bitching, dressed like shines and binge drinking to the point of falling off the bus on their face, never tipped and asked locals stupid shit.the guys right we should all stay home, really.....
ReplyDeleteI am sure he is - but isn't that the proverbial pot calling the kettle black? Turnabout is fair play. How many years have we been subjected to far worse from our unwashed cousins from the Emerald Isle? Drunk tourists and immigrants? The Irish turkey birds have the market cornered on that. At least we don't got there to find some hard up woman to latch onto to get citizenship over there.
DeleteThere is a lot abuse with nonprofits. Let's compromise. The IRS can target TEA, but then it must target the 501(c)(3) churches. The tea party was 501(c)(4).
ReplyDeleteFrankly, should the tea party be a nonprofit? Should these churches be nonprofits?
When they do not pay taxes, the burden shifts to us.
There is no compromise on the law as it exists. They ARE nonprofits. Churches SHOULD be non profit. If you think otherwise you are really extreme. What percentage of donations should the government get?
DeleteYou mention that the Tea Party should not be non profit ? Okay then what about Occupy Wall Street, Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, - countless other organizations. Those are the rules but the fascists at the IRS specifically targeted groups that lean Right....but the ones that lean left ...oh their ok....So when the Republicans take power will it be okay to go after the unions, Anti War groups, pro immigration groups, and any other left leaning groups ? These behaviors were crimes. What did Obama know ....and when ? That is the only question we need to know right now...not rewriting tax laws to force all churches to pay taxes.
Government agents at my door wanting to know what political sign I have on my lawn or what prayers I say at night..Excuse me while I order my Assault Rifle. Democrat Gestapo.
ReplyDeleteAs usual barry claims to be totallly ignorant of what happened. I'm surprised he hasn't balmed Bush yet. Just another low life Chicago democRAT political hack. And a gutless one at that>
ReplyDelete