An issue that since this story first broke some liberals-like myself to be honest-have to bring attention to is that whether or not the IRS acted improperly in the way they monitored the awarding of the 501c(4) designation or not, it wasn't only conservative groups being targeted.
This fact is now gaining wide currency. In addition, as Issa refused to release the full IRS House transcripts, the Democrats have which have given us a much better picture. With the full picture it's not the simplistic story of conservative persecution Issa and his friends have been telling us about.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/06/18/breaking-full-house-committee-transcripts-shed-new-light-on-genesis-of-irs-targeting/
As for the sensational claim that the IRS problems started in the White House, with every day that passes there it becomes more clear this is false.
Issa is not apologizing of course. Instead he's claiming that he never said it was-while still leaving out cryptic hints that even now, maybe it is.
"The news that progressive groups were also targeted by the IRS should, in theory at least, prompt reporters to press leading Republicans on a simple question: Do you still stand by your insinuations that the White House or Obama campaign were somehow behind the politically motivated targeting of conservatives?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/06/26/the-morning-plum-darrell-issa-backtracks-on-irs-scandal/
Now the Dems are demanding to know why the fact that liberal groups were also targeted was hidden. It turns out that the reason that we only heard of conservative groups is that this is what Issa asked the investigation to look at.
"This now goes well beyond Issa. Sam Stein has the latest:Democrats are now demanding to know why the original inspector general’s audit of the IRS omitted the critical fact that progressive groups were also targeted in a BOLO. This is key:
This fact is now gaining wide currency. In addition, as Issa refused to release the full IRS House transcripts, the Democrats have which have given us a much better picture. With the full picture it's not the simplistic story of conservative persecution Issa and his friends have been telling us about.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/06/18/breaking-full-house-committee-transcripts-shed-new-light-on-genesis-of-irs-targeting/
As for the sensational claim that the IRS problems started in the White House, with every day that passes there it becomes more clear this is false.
Issa is not apologizing of course. Instead he's claiming that he never said it was-while still leaving out cryptic hints that even now, maybe it is.
"The news that progressive groups were also targeted by the IRS should, in theory at least, prompt reporters to press leading Republicans on a simple question: Do you still stand by your insinuations that the White House or Obama campaign were somehow behind the politically motivated targeting of conservatives?"
"In a key moment, Rep. Darrell Issa — the chair of the Oversight Committee and a lead investigator into the IRS scandal — is now claiming he never, ever said the White House or the Obama campaign was behind the targeting. In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash (at the 1:30 mark), he said this:
“I’ve never said it came out of the office of the President or his campaign. What I’ve said is, it comes out of Washington.”
"And yet, later in the very same interview, Issa said this:
“For years, the president bashed the Tea Party groups. He was very public against these groups. And on his behalf — perhaps not on his request — on his behalf, the IRS executed a delaying tactic against the very groups that he talked about.”
"This is utter gibberish, and reporters (kudos to Bash for doing a great job here) need to hold Issa accountable for it. Indeed, the juxtaposition of the two statements neatly captures the increasingly untenable nature of Issa’s stance. He claims the IRS targeting was done “perhaps” not on the president’s request — seemingly dangling that out there as a possibility – right after flatly stating he has never said the targeting was directed by the White House or the president’s campaign. Is there any evidence that this was orchestrated by Obama or his campaign, or isn’t there? Yes, or No? Doesn’t the current evidence actually tell us otherwise? Yes, or No?"
"As for Issa’s suggestion that he never made any such charge, here’s what he said in mid-May:
“This was a targeting of the president’s political enemies, effectively, and lies [sic] about it during the election year so that it wasn’t discovered until afterwards.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/06/26/the-morning-plum-darrell-issa-backtracks-on-irs-scandal/
Now the Dems are demanding to know why the fact that liberal groups were also targeted was hidden. It turns out that the reason that we only heard of conservative groups is that this is what Issa asked the investigation to look at.
"This now goes well beyond Issa. Sam Stein has the latest:Democrats are now demanding to know why the original inspector general’s audit of the IRS omitted the critical fact that progressive groups were also targeted in a BOLO. This is key:
Karen Kraushaar, the communications director at the treasury inspector general’s office, said investigators had been constrained by their mission statement. House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa had specifically requested that investigators “narrowly focus on tea party organizations.” So they did just that, Kraushaar said.
"The charge that the targeting of conservatives was directed from Washington has collapsed, and the notion that conservatives were targeted for political reasons is in serious doubt. The IG is expected to respond soon."
Oops.
No comments:
Post a Comment