Darrell Issa says that the IRS targeting of conservatives was coordinated out of the Washington headquarters office and that he and other lawmakers are getting the proof.
From CBS News:
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., citing the testimony of IRS employees who spoke to his committee behind closed doors, argued Sunday that the tax agency’s targeting of conservative groups was not the result of a few “rogue agents” in the Cincinnati field office, as the IRS and the Obama administration have insisted, but the product of a direct order from IRS headquarters in Washington.
“As late as last week, the administration’s still trying to say there’s a few rogue agents in Cincinnati,” Issa said on CNN. “When in fact the indication is they were directly being ordered from Washington.”
As evidence, Issa pointed to the testimony of IRS employees from the Cincinnati office who spoke to his committee and indicated that IRS headquarters in Washington requested a sample of applications from conservative groups for tax exempt status.
Rep. Elijah Cummings provided a press release to CNN and called Issa’s statements “reckless.” But Issa has thus far stood firm in his accusations, even when challenged by CNN’s Candy Crowley on the point that he’d released only excerpts of the testimony.
“The whole transcript will be put out,” he said.
Issa lit into the White House for its shifting account of the targeting scandal, calling White House press secretary Jay Carney a “paid liar” who is “making up things and “saying whatever is convenient at the time.”
“This is a problem that was coordinated, in all likelihood, right out of Washington headquarters and we’re getting to proving it,” he promised.
Meanwhile, former White House senior adviser David Plouffe appeared on ABC’s “This Week” over the weekend to defend against the notion that any of the IRS targeting was political. He downplayed the whole ordeal, as did fellow panel guest Arianna Huffington, and suggested that most Americans prefer to focus on the economy and not all these scandals.
“All these things deserve thorough investigation,” Plouffe said. “The question is, is that all Congress is going to do? Are we just going to be obsessed with scandal and trying to score political points, or the American people could not be screaming any more loudly, ‘worry about us.’ ‘Work on the economy.’”
Seems every time this administration comes under fire, everyone suddenly wants to just work on the economy and ignore those pesky scandals. We’re six months into this president’s second term – is the economy not something he should have been focusing on all along?
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Hey Elijah, checked with your buddy Hank on how Guam is doing?
Candy, is one hell of a name for an obese individual, ain’t it? If she concerned herself with that weight, CNN just may take those shock absorbers out of her chair.
Plouffe and Arianna, One is LEFT to assume that your concern about the “economy”, includes JOBS OR are those “jobs” reserved for those soon to become
illegal citizens?It appears that the central planning committee decided that the mostly white Tea Party & religious groups should be discriminated against.
The more absolute the power of the IRS the more corrupt it will become (Lord Acton).
“Plouffe” .. I’m sorry but that sounds like a .. well .. a methane gas release from the bowel.
http://twitchy.com/2013/06/02/tweets-by-former-irs-chiefs-wife-reveal-liberal-political-views/
Yeah, no…
Guys this is a TOTAL coincid-dink, caused by a couple rogue IRS janitors in East Podunk, Ohio, who failed to provide the “customer service” we’ve come to expect from our apolitical friends who labor for our benefit at our very own IRS.
Again, having these hearings is good, but what are the Republicans going to do about it?
Obama crossed the Rubicon, he used the IRS, FBI, EPA, and other organizations against the domestic opposition.
What, Mr Issa, when you reach the end of the hearing process are you going to do about it?
Whoa! Hold on just one minute here. Calm down. This is Washington, these are lawyers. They do “accountability,”
not “consequences.” Consequences are for “bitter clingers.”
Well, if there ain’t no consequences, I’d be inclined to start heating up the tar bucket and plucking some chickens. Anyone from up in the Rust Bucket want to find us a light section of rail?
“When insolence outrunneth the law, men customarily arm themselves to chastise the offense upon the body of the offender; for the proverb sayeth: no courtesy sans valor.”
>>”or the American people could not be screaming any more loudly, ‘worry about us.’ ‘Work on the economy.’”
B..b..but I thought all Americans cared about was gun control?
“I will tell you this on the IRS front. I’ve worked in this town for over 20 years in the White House and on Capitol Hill and I can say with a very strong sense of certainty that there are people very close to this president that not only knew what the IRS were doing but authorized it.
It simply just does not happen at an agency level like that without political advisers likely in the West Wing certainly connected to the president’s ongoing campaign organization that didn’t know about it.”
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/06/03/abc-news-reporter-white-house-authorized-irs-abuses/
Middle Public Servants or Civil Servants in any country do not make those decisions. I should know because I am an ex-Public Servant.
In fact I know of something that has happened in my own country within the past week but am not at liberty to discuss it. What I can state is that the order for what took place came from someone high in the chain and the purpose is to hurt the next incoming Government.
“Bridge to helm! Pivot! PIVOT!”
“So let’s take Obama at his word that he had no idea all this [at IRS] was going on. In that case, he might like to take the lead in calling for the abolition of a corrupt agency and its grotesque tax code, and their replacement by a bureaucracy with more limited powers commensurate with a free society and a simplified tax regime with lower rates and thus fewer bewildering, mercurial ‘exemptions’ that make the citizenry dependent on the caprices of Ms. Lerner and her colleagues. That’s a prize worth fighting for.”
The ever-on-the-mark Mr. Steyn at http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/053113-658399-americans-uniquely-fearful-of-irs.htm
Just think how bad the economy would be if Obama and the Democrats actually wanted to work on the economy….there’s no problem as bad as the solution created by Democrats.
Anybody see the Crowley/Issa interview yesterday?
I caught it–Crowley, setting up the interview, went on and on about how it isn’t fair to release “excerpts”, because they can be taken out of context. Issa agreed, but said the full transcripts will be released. Finally, they get around to the actual Q&A of the deposition.
shorter version:
Q: Hey, did you guys in Cincinatti do this on your own?
A: Heck no, we were following orders from Washington.
Q: So, are you saying Washington directed you to target tea party?
A: yes.
So, Crowley goes on about “cherrypicking” excerpts, then asks Issa if he thinks he’ll be able to prove Washington was involved, and he says yes.
Later in the Day, I noticed a headline on Yahoo that went something like “CNN host destroys Issa’s claim Washington was involved in IRS scandal”.
The link went to what I assume is a lefty website, and the writer and commenters were pretty pleased with the fact the Issa/republicans got caught lying, and that they’re all scum liars.
Issa’s mistake was not in challenging Crowley straight back in her face. She openly violated the rules of the debate in October to lie and favor Obama. She’s a hack propagandist, NOT an objective journalist, and EVERY single Republican she challenges should stick that right back in her face EVERY time.
[…] Issa: IRS Targeting Coordinated in D.C. Darrell Issa says that the IRS targeting of conservatives was coordinated out of the Washington headquarters office and that he and other lawmakers are getting the proof. […]