IRS targeting included liberal groups
CNN updated their article that Political Atheist posted earlier and it defines things a bit better…
From that earlier post…
More: IRS Probe Finds More Screening Lists
To this updated one…
IRS targeting included liberal groups
Washington (CNN) — The Internal Revenue Service targeted liberal groups as well as conservatives seeking tax-exempt status, a Democratic congressman charged on Monday after the agency acknowledged the inappropriate practice continued until last month.
Rep. Sander Levin said the term “progressives” was included on IRS screening lists of applicants for tax-exempt status made available to Congress on Monday.
It was the first confirmation that the “Be on the Lookout” or BOLO lists used criteria targeting liberal groups after an inspector general’s report made public last month said the IRS had used words such as “tea party” to determine possible extra scrutiny
In a statement, the Michigan Democrat questioned why the Treasury inspector general who initially disclosed the IRS targeting, J. Russell George, focused only on BOLO lists that contained conservative labels.
The inspector general’s report “served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations, and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way,” Levin’s statement said.
A spokesperson for George later responded that the report focused only on BOLO criteria used to refer cases for extra scrutiny of potential political activity that would make groups ineligible for tax-exempt status.
Republicans have claimed the controversy amounted to political retribution against enemies of the administration, an accusation denied by the White House and the IRS.
In response to Levin’s statement, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp said the inclusion of “progressives” on a BOLO list did not prove that liberal groups underwent the same extra scrutiny of conservative groups cited in the inspector general’s report.
Then again, Rep. Camp’s statement doesn’t prove they didn’t.