IRS Targeted Conservative Groups for Audit in 2012

[Esther]

Originally Posted by n david

The hearing into the IRS scandal took an even darker turn...

One of the questions sent to conservative groups was this:



So you have the IRS trampling on the rights of conservative groups to obtain a certain tax status. During this time, the IRS approves Obama's uncle or cousin or some family members' tax status, along with other liberal groups applications.

Now you have the IRS trampling on first amendment rights of these conservative groups. Not only were they singled out for conservative views, but their religion is now being questioned as well.

And this agency is in charge of enforcing Obamacare.

Things are about to get a lot worse.

LINK and Video

Would have trouble with Pentecostals since we don't have predetermined prayers.

[n david]

Story is changing. Remember just last week, Carney said no one in the WH knew about this until Friday, 5/10 when the IRS woman used a staged question to admit and "apologize" for targeting conservative groups.

TODAY Carney said, oh we knew....but the President didn't know. Carney admitted that not only did the WH Counsel know about the targeting, but the senior WH staff also knew - including Obama's own WH Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough.

So first, Carney says no one in the WH knew. Now he says senior WH staff did know...just not the President.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

We're supposed to believe that no one: not the WH Counsel, not the WH Chief of Staff, not any of the other senior WH staff informed the President?

Is Carney really saying the senior WH staff conspired to keep Obama in the dark about a bombshell scandal about to break?

Is he really saying that this President is completely incompetent and out of the loop?

MSM isn't even buying that steamy pile.

LINK

LINK

[n david]

From the Press Gaggle on 5/13

Q Jay, the President said that he himself was unaware of the IRS targeting. But was anyone else at the White House aware as early as 2011, when this first came out, or of the testimony in March when an IRS official talked about it?

MR. CARNEY: No.

And again in the 5/14 Press Briefing:

Q Jay, it’s now clear that senior tax officials knew about this extra scrutiny of conservative groups since 2011, which means also during the election and that this was withheld until after the election. Should the White House have been informed earlier?

MR. CARNEY: My understanding is that when there is a review, as there was and is, by an Inspector General, that when the end of that process is nearing and a report is about to be released, a notification is appropriate and routine. And that is what happened, and that happened several weeks ago. Prior to that, there was no knowledge here at the White House.

From the same briefing:

Q Jay, can you say, categorically, that nobody at the White House and nobody on the President’s political team had any knowledge or was involved in any way in the targeting of tea party groups by the IRS?

MR. CARNEY: Yes.

Q Absolutely not?

MR. CARNEY: I mean, we found out about this -- or at least the Counsel’s Office was notified about this investigation, this activity -- potential activity -- very broadly just a few weeks ago. And beyond that, we have to -- we learn about everything we know about this from what we see in your reports. So that’s why we have to wait for the Inspector General's report before we can assess, based on that and what it tells us, what we know about what happened and what didn’t, and what actions should be taken, and then decide on what next steps should be taken.

Q I want to follow up on the IRS. I still don't quite understand the timeline. We had members of Congress complaining about this for two years. Did it just never reach you guys here at the White House that there was these complaints that conservative groups felt that they were being singled out and targeted at any point in time?

MR. CARNEY: I'm not sure that people -- I'm sure people were aware of and knew some of the stories that had been reported about the complaints, but we were not aware of any activity or of any review conducted by the Inspector General until several weeks ago.

Here's a great exchange:

Q Jay, you just said, categorically, that you could say no one from the White House or on the President's political team was involved. That’s a pretty unequivocal answer on your part. And yet, the bulk of this press conference is you saying, you don’t have all the facts; it's a wait-and-see approach.

MR. CARNEY: Well, that a fair point. What I can tell you is that --

Q What gives you that confidence?

MR. CARNEY: I can tell you that, as I think I said yesterday, the White House Counsel was alerted about this IG review and the general topic of it just a few weeks ago. And I didn’t find out about it --

Q How do we get to there from being categorically certain that no one from the White House's team or the political team was involved?

MR. CARNEY: I have no reason to believe --

Q So you're doing it on good faith, that this is just your assumption?

MR. CARNEY: Well, because I can tell you that I am not aware of anyone here knowing about it. It would be, obviously --

Q So it's down to your direct knowledge of being aware of anyone here?

MR. CARNEY: Hans, you can ask me if somebody who works in the --

Q You've asserted something categorically and I don't understand how you know that.

MR. CARNEY: I can say that I am certainly not aware of and am confident that no one here was involved in this. We found out about it just a few weeks ago, and only -- and when I say "we," I didn’t, the President didn’t, but the White House Counsel's Office only found out about the review being conducted and coming to conclusion by the Inspector General.

Q So what gives you the confidence?

MR. CARNEY: I think I can say that I feel confident in that, but I don’t have anything --

Q But do you have any facts?

MR. CARNEY: You're asking me to prove a negative, Hans.

Q Well, you've made the assertion. You've asserted that you're confident that no one -- you're the one that actually put the -- put it out there.

MR. CARNEY: Again, you heard the President express his views. And we're going to wait and see what the facts are, based on the independent Inspector General review. And then we will make judgments about those facts and what next steps might be taken and by whom, and what actions might be taken. But I'm just not going to get into any more details about it because it would be inappropriate to do so.

[n david]

Senate Finance Committee is getting its turn questioning ex-IRS head Steven Miller live now on C-SPAN3.

I wonder if he'll have names today, or give any kind of information this time around.

I'm sure it must pain the Democrats to claim outrage that the TEA PARTY was targeted.

Max Baucus is speaking now.

[n david]

Max Baucus asked "What created the culture that targeted these groups."

Let me answer that, Mr. Baucus; YOU helped to create the culture that caused the IRS to target the Tea Party.

Mr. Baucus, along with Chuck Shumer, Michael Bennet, Sheldon Whitehouse, Jeff Merkley, Tom Udall, Jeanne Shaheen and Al Franken -- all demanded the IRS look into Tea Party groups applying for tax-exempt status.

Baucus is feigning outrage today, but he has himself and other Democrats to blame -- including the President. They demonized the Tea Party; they demanded the Tea Party be shut down. They are all responsible.

This is a dog and pony show. Baucus is stumbling over words, stammering, barely able to form a coherent sentence. Hatch is no better. Shulman and Miller keep claiming to know nothing.

My question is where is Lois Lerner? She's the one that was the head of the determination office. She's the one who set up the staged question and leak of the targeting. Why isn't she sitting in front of the committee, under oath, answering questions.

Until she's questioned under oath, there's nothing new to this. Just a bunch of Senator's huffing and puffing and exuding their self-importance.

[n david]

Senator from Wyoming stated he was contacted by a constituent claiming the IRS audited his church and requested the church membership list. This is the first I've heard of this. Can't find anything on google about it. That would be a serious issue IF true.

[Pressing-On]

David, I'm glad you are here to take over this reporting.

I've tried to keep up with it, but am engaged in other places where the information gets moved farther than one forum place. So, letting one go, is helpful to me.

[n david]

Definitely no PO!

Watching the Press Briefing with Jay Carney now. Wish someone would ask about the head of the IRS employee union meeting with the President the day before the IRS implemented the targeting.

[n david]

Press questions so far are why release info through a staged question; is that an appropriate way to release the info.

Questions about Dan Pfeiffer's interviews on the Sunday news shows.

[RandyWayne]

President Obama -- the CEO who knows nothing




Certainly Obama has always given the impression he knows everything going on. When it came to his big success -- the killing of Usama bin Laden- the Obama White House was quick to take full credit. We heard the narrative that Obama was involved in all the planning. He knew every minute detail. Obama was the hands-on CEO. It was Obama's “kill.”

It was like a UFC Championship bout to the death: Osama versus Obama. That’s certainly what the public relations spinners at the Obama White House wanted us to believe.

But suddenly, when it comes to the IRS scandal, the president has morphed from Chuck Norris to Sgt. Shultz of "Hogan's Heroes." He knew...NOTHING. He heard...NOTHING. He saw...NOTHING. Suddenly it's a VERY big government and no one man can know what's going on under his command. Suddenly he is the ultimate hands-off CEO. Suddenly he was too busy on the golf course.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/...#ixzz2U2jcdt12