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FBI to investigate IRS 'targeting' of conservative groups Obama says IRS targeting of conservative groups 'intolerable'
(about 7 hours later)
The FBI is investigating reports the US tax collection agency targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny ahead of the 2012 election, the US attorney general has said. US President Barack Obama has said the federal tax agency's targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny was "intolerable and inexcusable".
Eric Holder said the FBI would determine whether Internal Revenue Service staff broke criminal laws. He said those responsible for the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) actions would be held responsible.
Three Congressional panels are also planning hearings into the matter. Mr Obama spoke after a treasury department report placed the blame on "ineffective management" at the agency.
The agency's commissioner has acknowledged "mistakes" but denied political bias. The US attorney general earlier ordered an FBI inquiry into the IRS conduct before the 2012 presidential election.
Allegations that staff at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) subjected conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status to undue scrutiny have roiled Washington DC since Friday. Eric Holder told a news conference that agents would determine if any laws had been broken.
"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 said on Tuesday on CBS television. The actions of tax officers, if not criminal, were "certainly outrageous and unacceptable", Mr Holder added.
Also on Tuesday, two high-profile Republican governors called for President Barack Obama to fire any IRS employees responsible for the actions and to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether any laws were broken. '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: "The mistakes outlined in the report resulted from the lack of a set process for working the increase in advocacy cases and insufficient sensitivity to the implications of some of the decisions made.
"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 said they will hold hearings after reading the inspector general's report.
"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."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.
Awaiting report
Attorney General Eric Holder told news media the reports were "certainly outrageous and unacceptable" and the justice department was investigating violations of criminal law.
At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said the Obama administration was awaiting the expected release this week of a treasury department inspector general's report before taking any action.
Mr Carney said the White House was notified of the forthcoming report in late April but did not know the details of the findings.
He said he could categorically rule out that anyone in the White House or on the Obama political team had knowledge of the targeting or was involved in it.
For his part, Mr Obama on Monday denounced the reported actions, calling them "outrageous" and saying US taxpayers had to have confidence the tax agency worked in a non-partisan fashion.
Jump in applications
The number of groups filing with the IRS for tax-exempt status shot up between 2010-12, after a Supreme Court decision loosened restrictions on campaign spending by groups not formally affiliated with candidates' campaigns.
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 and had received inappropriate scrutiny.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 and had received inappropriate scrutiny.
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.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.
While the head of the IRS tax-exempt division has said the "absolutely inappropriate" actions were limited to the agency's branch office in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday additional queries to conservative groups came from the Washington office and at least two other branch offices.
In an opinion piece in USA Today published on Tuesday, IRS Commissioner Steven Miller acknowledged the agency had made mistakes but insisted "they were in no way due to any political or partisan motivation".
He wrote the agency had made mistakes in its process for handling the influx of applications, including "a shortcut taken in our processes to determine which groups needed additional review".
The House Ways and Means committee will hold a hearing on Friday, in which Mr Miller is expected to testify. The Senate finance and investigations committees have said they will hold hearings after reading the inspector general's report.