IRS Began Targeting Conservative Groups in 2010, Report Shows
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Comstock Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The Internal Revenue Service started targeting conservative groups, like the Tea Party, for extra scrutiny more than three years ago, a soon-to-be-released investigative report obtained by ABC News shows.
The IRS has recently acknowledged targeting groups with Tea Party or Patriot in their names, but ABC News has learned the new report goes further.
A draft of the document prepared by the IRS’ internal watchdog says the IRS was also tracking groups whose goals included “limiting government,” educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and even groups that “criticized” how the country is being run.
President Obama will likely face questions about the findings during a mid-day news conference at the White House on Monday.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney released a statement Monday morning regarding the issue:
“The President believes that the American people expect and deserve to have the very best public servants with the highest levels of integrity working in government agencies on their behalf. Based on recent media reports, he is concerned that the conduct of a small number of Internal Revenue Service employees may have fallen short of that standard. We understand that the matter is currently under review by the Inspector General. If the Inspector General finds that there were any rules broken or that conduct of government officials did not meet the standards required of them, the President expects that swift and appropriate steps will be taken to address any misconduct.”
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