Issa takes last stab at IRS for tea party affair
Darrell Issa is having his last go at the IRS.
President Barack Obamas chief congressional inquisitor on Tuesday released his final report on the IRS tea party targeting scandal with a number of questions still unanswered, as he passes the gavel to the next House Oversight chairman.
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The California Republican repeats evidence of mistreatment of conservative groups and argues that political leanings influenced the agency thats supposed to be a neutral law enforcer, according to a copy of the report obtained by POLITICO.
The prime example in the report? An IRS employee calling a group engaging in political activity icky.
(Also on POLITICO: Lee braces for challenge)
Missing from the report: evidence that the White House orchestrated a plot a connection Republicans originally sought to make but later scaled back as they failed to find a smoking gun. But they still slam IRS officials for what they call biased behavior.
Conservative organizations were not just singled out because of their political beliefs they were targeted by IRS officials and employees who expressed a general loathing toward them even while begrudgingly admitting that those organizations were in compliance with the only thing the IRS should care about: the federal tax code, the report reads.
Democrats have defended the agency against Republican attacks, while condemning the original practice of added scrutiny given to conservative groups, originally revealed in an inspector general report in May 2013.
It is revealing that the Republicans yet again are leaking cherry-picked excerpts of documents to support their preconceived political narrative without allowing committee members to even see their conclusions or vote on them first, said Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking member on the committee. By leaking information to reporters on condition that they not disclose it to Democrats, Republicans are intentionally bypassing the normal congressional vetting process designed to distinguish fact from fiction.
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Issa takes last stab at IRS for tea party affair