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IRS targeting linked to Republican staffer

danarhea

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WASHINGTON — A self-described conservative Republican who is a manager in the Internal Revenue Service office that targeted Tea Party groups, told investigators that he, not the White House, set the review in motion, the top Democrat on the House watchdog committee said Sunday.

In the transcript, the manager said he and an underling set aside “Tea Party” and “patriot” groups that had applied for tax-exempt status because the organizations appeared to pose a new precedent that could affect future IRS filings.

Interesting development, but whether the staffer was a Republican or not is not the question. The IRS DID target Tea Party groups a lot more closely than Progressive groups. However, this does not appear to be political, but bungling how the IRS investigates applications for 501(c)3 status by groups. Many Tea Party groups had applied, which appeared to be more political than providing social programs, may have had an impact on how the IRS investigated, but the IRS ended up going overboard. This seems more like incompetence than political motivation, but whatever the reason, the IRS does owe apologies to the Tea Party groups they overscrutinized.

However, take this story with a grain of salt. The story is laid out by a Democrat. What actually occurred could be different. Let's wait and see how quickly this can be verified, one way or the other.

Article is here
.

Edit: The actual transcripts of the committee hearings (Part 1 and Part 2) seem to back this up. No wonder Daryl Issa did not want the transcripts released.
 
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Interesting development, but whether the staffer was a Republican or not is not the question. The IRS DID target Tea Party groups a lot more closely than Progressive groups. However, this does not appear to be political, but bungling how the IRS investigates applications for 501(c)3 status by groups. Many Tea Party groups had applied, which appeared to be more political than providing social programs, may have had an impact on how the IRS investigated, but the IRS ended up going overboard. This seems more like incompetence than political motivation, but whatever the reason, the IRS does owe apologies to the Tea Party groups they overscrutinized.

However, take this story with a grain of salt. The story is laid out by a Democrat. What actually occurred could be different. Let's wait and see how quickly this can be verified, one way or the other.

Article is here
.

And the fact that this program neutralized a significant part of the President's opposition during the 2012 election cycle is merely coincidental.
 
And the fact that this program neutralized a significant part of the President's opposition during the 2012 election cycle is merely coincidental.

You can come up with all the conspiracy theories you want to, but they can't change what is in the actual hearing transcripts, which is testimony under oath, and even by a Republican who oversaw the IRS Cincinatti office.
 
And the fact that this program neutralized a significant part of the President's opposition during the 2012 election cycle is merely coincidental.

Of course not

It's proof that even "self-described conservative republicans" were conspiring to defeat Romney :roll:
 
Interesting development, but whether the staffer was a Republican or not is not the question. The IRS DID target Tea Party groups a lot more closely than Progressive groups. However, this does not appear to be political, but bungling how the IRS investigates applications for 501(c)3 status by groups. Many Tea Party groups had applied, which appeared to be more political than providing social programs, may have had an impact on how the IRS investigated, but the IRS ended up going overboard. This seems more like incompetence than political motivation, but whatever the reason, the IRS does owe apologies to the Tea Party groups they overscrutinized.

However, take this story with a grain of salt. The story is laid out by a Democrat. What actually occurred could be different. Let's wait and see how quickly this can be verified, one way or the other.

Article is here
.

Edit: The actual transcripts of the committee hearings (Part 1 and Part 2) seem to back this up. No wonder Daryl Issa did not want the transcripts released.

Who started the "targetted review" process is very not important. That it was recognized, yet allowed to proceed unchecked, is the issue. Management is still responsible for the (in)actions of the agency personnel and should be held fully accountable. The "some other dude started it" excuse should not be allowed to excuse those responsible for letting the practice continue. We did not accept that only the Exxon Valdez captain was responsible for the Alaska oil spill nor should we allow the IRS management to lay the blame on the "initiatve" taken by its employees.
 
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Who started the "targetted review" process is very not important. That it was recognized, yet allowed to proceed unchecked, is the issue. Management is still responsible for the (in)actions of the agency personnel and should be held fully accountable. The "some other dude started it" excuse should not be allowed to excuse those responsible for letting the practice continue. We did not accpet that only the Exxon Valdez captain was responsible for the Alaska oil spill nor should we allow the IRS management to lay the blame on the "initiatve" taken by its employees.

I completely agree with you. The head of the Cincinatti IRS office should be sacked. And, by the way, the head of the Cincinatti IRS office, who IS a Republican, admitted, under oath, that he was the one who started this. So yea, he is culpable, and his head needs to roll.

Chalk this up to incompetence, not politics.
 
You can come up with all the conspiracy theories you want to, but they can't change what is in the actual hearing transcripts, which is testimony under oath, and even by a Republican who oversaw the IRS Cincinatti office.

No problem. We can abolish the IRS and let the gods sort it all out.
 
And another one bites the dust. Will the racist Obama haters learn anything from this? This is what they said it was right from the start. Just too many baggers attempting to con the system.

No, they won't learn because politics is skin deep and their racist hate goes clean to the bone!
 
And another one bites the dust. Will the racist Obama haters learn anything from this? This is what they said it was right from the start. Just too many baggers attempting to con the system.

No, they won't learn because politics is skin deep and their racist hate goes clean to the bone!

I wouldn't call them racists. I can see how they could assume that, since Obama IS the head of government, and that the IRS was targeting them, they could jump to conclusions that Obama did it. Face it, if Progressive groups had been targeted by the IRS during the Bush administration, you would be screaming your head off.
 
And the fact that this program neutralized a significant part of the President's opposition during the 2012 election cycle is merely coincidental.

Neutralized a significant part.... sounds like the whine Germany used to assuage national pride in losing WWI, the GOP wasn't in disarray as Tea Party members balked at undying support for Willard. No Sir it was sabotaged !!!! stabbed in the back!!!! Quislings I tell you!

Or perhaps the effect was minimal on operations and the GOP did as much damage to itself in the primaries as Willard did to himself in the general election...
 
I wouldn't call them racists. I can see how they could assume that, since Obama IS the head of government, and that the IRS was targeting them, they could jump to conclusions that Obama did it. Face it, if Progressive groups had been targeted by the IRS during the Bush administration, you would be screaming your head off.

When it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, ..................

They're racists. It would be too coincidental to think that they aren't. No other president has ever been the subject of such hate and vitriol from their ilk. W didn't even approach what's going on now and his crimes were multitudes of times more serious and egregioius. They're beinig caught with their pants down and like bad little boys they need to be marched out behind the woodshed while good and ordinary sane people fetch a switch!
 
I just want to make sure that I'm understanding how this all works....

We KNOW that the IRS was unfairly targeting Tea Party groups and have all kinds of evidence that it was doing so including admissions from dozens of people but (and apparently this is the only part that matters) because it can't be linked directly to Obama is isn't a problem.

Is that really the argument people are trying to make?
 
I completely agree with you. The head of the Cincinatti IRS office should be sacked. And, by the way, the head of the Cincinatti IRS office, who IS a Republican, admitted, under oath, that he was the one who started this. So yea, he is culpable, and his head needs to roll.

Chalk this up to incompetence, not politics.
But, the Republicans want to blame President Obama.

In the testimony, the screening manager says that he first became aware of the initial Tea Party application when an “agent who worked for me” asked for “guidance concerning a case for him.” The manager testified that in this case he agreed with the agent that “there was not enough information” to figure out whether to grant the group tax exempt status.

“I told him at that point in time I agreed with his thinking,” the manager testified, adding that he informed the agent that he would “elevate that issue to my area manager.

“This was the first case that came in that was brought to my attention,” the manager continued.

The manager further testified that the Tea Party groups were deliberately grouped together so that they would receive consistent treatment. “There was a lot of concerns about making sure that any cases that had, you know, similar-type activities or items included, that they would be worked by the same agent or same group,” the manager testified.

Breaking: Full House committee transcripts shed new light on genesis of IRS targeting
 
I just want to make sure that I'm understanding how this all works....

We KNOW that the IRS was unfairly targeting Tea Party groups and have all kinds of evidence that it was doing so including admissions from dozens of people but (and apparently this is the only part that matters) because it can't be linked directly to Obama is isn't a problem.

Is that really the argument people are trying to make?

Did you read the transcripts of the hearings, which I posted in the OP? No, I didn't think so.
 
Interesting development, but whether the staffer was a Republican or not is not the question. The IRS DID target Tea Party groups a lot more closely than Progressive groups. However, this does not appear to be political, but bungling how the IRS investigates applications for 501(c)3 status by groups. Many Tea Party groups had applied, which appeared to be more political than providing social programs, may have had an impact on how the IRS investigated, but the IRS ended up going overboard. This seems more like incompetence than political motivation, but whatever the reason, the IRS does owe apologies to the Tea Party groups they overscrutinized.

However, take this story with a grain of salt. The story is laid out by a Democrat. What actually occurred could be different. Let's wait and see how quickly this can be verified, one way or the other.

Article is here
.

Edit: The actual transcripts of the committee hearings (Part 1 and Part 2) seem to back this up. No wonder Daryl Issa did not want the transcripts released.

I should also point out that we already have testimony to the effect that Washington DC was running the investigation of the Tea Parties and was responsible for the delays those applications suffered. We have testimony that the IRS leaked confidential membership lists to the Tea Parties political opponents, and that those donors were then harassed. We have testimony that people targeted by the IRS were targeted by the EPA, ATF, and OSHA at the same time in what looks like a coordinated effort. We even have evidence that whistle blowers in other agencies were then targeted by the IRS for harassment.

We are way way beyond some guy in the Cincinnati office being responsible for this. It's beginning to look like a pervasive culture of corruption not just within the IRS but within much of the federal government.
 
Interesting development, but whether the staffer was a Republican or not is not the question. The IRS DID target Tea Party groups a lot more closely than Progressive groups. However, this does not appear to be political, but bungling how the IRS investigates applications for 501(c)3 status by groups. Many Tea Party groups had applied, which appeared to be more political than providing social programs, may have had an impact on how the IRS investigated, but the IRS ended up going overboard. This seems more like incompetence than political motivation, but whatever the reason, the IRS does owe apologies to the Tea Party groups they overscrutinized.
I think you meant to say 501c4.
 
I just want to make sure that I'm understanding how this all works....

We KNOW that the IRS was unfairly targeting Tea Party groups and have all kinds of evidence that it was doing so including admissions from dozens of people but (and apparently this is the only part that matters) because it can't be linked directly to Obama is isn't a problem.

Is that really the argument people are trying to make?

Not at all.

The fact that it can't be linked to Obama is most definitely a problem


For the haters on the right
 
When it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, ..................

They're racists. It would be too coincidental to think that they aren't. No other president has ever been the subject of such hate and vitriol from their ilk. W didn't even approach what's going on now and his crimes were multitudes of times more serious and egregioius. They're beinig caught with their pants down and like bad little boys they need to be marched out behind the woodshed while good and ordinary sane people fetch a switch!

OK, they are racists. So you must be a terrorist supporter because so many Arabs support the Democratic party. See, it gets pretty ugly when you start assassinating peoples' character, based solely on association.

Are there a few racists among Tea Party members? Of course there are. Lots of people from the Middle East, a very few of who don't like America, support Democrats. But I'm not going to say that, just because a few of them don't like America, then that makes you a terrorist. I would be un-american for doing something like that. So, let me ask you - Are YOU un-American?
 
Then who would collect taxes?

The states. I now support the concept of returning to a union of states. The federal government can bill the states for its services. The states can do the taxation.
 
I should also point out that we already have testimony to the effect that Washington DC was running the investigation of the Tea Parties and was responsible for the delays those applications suffered. We have testimony that the IRS leaked confidential membership lists to the Tea Parties political opponents, and that those donors were then harassed. We have testimony that people targeted by the IRS were targeted by the EPA, ATF, and OSHA at the same time in what looks like a coordinated effort. We even have evidence that whistle blowers in other agencies were then targeted by the IRS for harassment.

We are way way beyond some guy in the Cincinnati office being responsible for this. It's beginning to look like a pervasive culture of corruption not just within the IRS but within much of the federal government.

Show me the testimony which proves that. If it exists, it is in the 2 links I provided to the complete testimony given during the hearings. I read both links, and couldn't find what you are claiming. Perhaps you can do better?
 
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