[h=3]By JOHN D. MCKINNON[/h]President Barack Obama said Monday that if any Internal Revenue Service staff targeted groups based on their political leanings, they would be held "fully accountable" for their actions, in remarks that came as both Republican and Democratic lawmakers continued to express anger over the revelations.
"If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on, and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that's outrageous," Mr. Obama said, in his first public remarks on the issue, during a White House news conference with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.
Details emerged Sunday that IRS scrutiny of dozens of applications by conservative groups for tax-exempt status went beyond those with "tea party" or "patriot" in their names—as the agency admitted Friday—to also include ones worried about government spending, debt or taxes, and even ones that lobbied to "make America a better place to live."
Disclosures to congressional investigators by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration also revealed that a high-ranking IRS official knew as early as mid-2011 that conservative groups were being inappropriately targeted—nearly a year before then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told a congressional committee the agency wasn't targeting conservative groups.
The findings, which were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, don't make clear who came up with the idea to give extra scrutiny to the conservative groups.
"I'm not going to comment on their specific findings prematurely," said Mr. Obama, who added that he didn't hear about the alleged abuses until Friday. "But I can tell you that if you've got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and nonpartisan way, then that is outrageous, it is contrary to our traditions, and people have to be held accountable and it's got to be fixed. So we'll wait and see what exactly all the details and the facts are."
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Friday to look into the allegations. In a statement, Rep. Dave Camp (R., Mich.), chairman of the committee, and Rep. Sander Levin (D., Mich.), the ranking Democratic member, said the only witnesses would be acting IRS commissioner Steve Miller and the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, J. Russell George.
"The American public expects the Internal Revenue Service to be apolitical in its enforcement of our tax laws," Mr. Camp said in the statement. "News that the agency admits it targeted American taxpayers based on politics is both astounding and appalling."
Earlier Monday, Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, termed the IRS actions "an outrageous abuse of power and a breach of the public's trust." He said targeting groups for heightened scrutiny based on their political views is "intolerable."
Mr. Baucus said he plans to review a soon-to-be-released inspector general's report, but the IRS "should be prepared for a full investigation into this matter."
On Sunday, a government official said the report will note that IRS officials told investigators that no one outside the IRS was involved in developing the criteria the agency now acknowledges were flawed.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) called for the Treasury Secretary to demand the resignation of Mr. Miller, the acting IRS commissioner.
Rep. Mike Turner (R., Ohio) said he would introduce legislation to make it a crime for an IRS employee to discriminate against an individual or group on the basis of protected rights such as speech and expression.
"The fact that this could occur with little to no corrective action against those who seek to silence their fellow citizens is unacceptable," Mr. Turner said in a statement. "That's why I'm taking immediate action and introducing this bill."
He said in a release that IRS employees who discriminate against taxpayers now are subject to termination. Mr. Turner's bill would increase the maximum penalty to a $5,000 fine, 5 years in prison, or both—the same maximum penalty for a cabinet-level official who directs an employee to take such action, he said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said the IRS allegations "are very troubling and I intend to take a close look at the inspector general's report when it is released," while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said: "Those who engaged in this behavior were wrong and must be held accountable for their actions. "
Another Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, termed the IRS actions "unacceptable and un-American," and called on Mr. Obama to "find those individuals in his administration who are responsible and fire them."
Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) also condemned the agency's actions. "The administration should take swift action to get to the bottom of this to ensure those responsible for misconduct are held accountable and establish appropriate safeguards to prevent this from ever happening again," he said.
Sen. Mark Warner, also a Virginia Democrat, said that a "quick and thorough investigation" should be carried out by the administration and that those found responsible for the "betrayal of the public trust" should be fired.
—Jared A. Favole and Sarah Portlock contributed to this article.Write to John D. McKinnon at [email protected]
"If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on, and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that's outrageous," Mr. Obama said, in his first public remarks on the issue, during a White House news conference with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.
Details emerged Sunday that IRS scrutiny of dozens of applications by conservative groups for tax-exempt status went beyond those with "tea party" or "patriot" in their names—as the agency admitted Friday—to also include ones worried about government spending, debt or taxes, and even ones that lobbied to "make America a better place to live."
Disclosures to congressional investigators by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration also revealed that a high-ranking IRS official knew as early as mid-2011 that conservative groups were being inappropriately targeted—nearly a year before then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told a congressional committee the agency wasn't targeting conservative groups.
The findings, which were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, don't make clear who came up with the idea to give extra scrutiny to the conservative groups.
"I'm not going to comment on their specific findings prematurely," said Mr. Obama, who added that he didn't hear about the alleged abuses until Friday. "But I can tell you that if you've got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and nonpartisan way, then that is outrageous, it is contrary to our traditions, and people have to be held accountable and it's got to be fixed. So we'll wait and see what exactly all the details and the facts are."
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Friday to look into the allegations. In a statement, Rep. Dave Camp (R., Mich.), chairman of the committee, and Rep. Sander Levin (D., Mich.), the ranking Democratic member, said the only witnesses would be acting IRS commissioner Steve Miller and the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, J. Russell George.
"The American public expects the Internal Revenue Service to be apolitical in its enforcement of our tax laws," Mr. Camp said in the statement. "News that the agency admits it targeted American taxpayers based on politics is both astounding and appalling."
Earlier Monday, Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, termed the IRS actions "an outrageous abuse of power and a breach of the public's trust." He said targeting groups for heightened scrutiny based on their political views is "intolerable."
Mr. Baucus said he plans to review a soon-to-be-released inspector general's report, but the IRS "should be prepared for a full investigation into this matter."
On Sunday, a government official said the report will note that IRS officials told investigators that no one outside the IRS was involved in developing the criteria the agency now acknowledges were flawed.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) called for the Treasury Secretary to demand the resignation of Mr. Miller, the acting IRS commissioner.
Rep. Mike Turner (R., Ohio) said he would introduce legislation to make it a crime for an IRS employee to discriminate against an individual or group on the basis of protected rights such as speech and expression.
"The fact that this could occur with little to no corrective action against those who seek to silence their fellow citizens is unacceptable," Mr. Turner said in a statement. "That's why I'm taking immediate action and introducing this bill."
He said in a release that IRS employees who discriminate against taxpayers now are subject to termination. Mr. Turner's bill would increase the maximum penalty to a $5,000 fine, 5 years in prison, or both—the same maximum penalty for a cabinet-level official who directs an employee to take such action, he said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said the IRS allegations "are very troubling and I intend to take a close look at the inspector general's report when it is released," while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said: "Those who engaged in this behavior were wrong and must be held accountable for their actions. "
Another Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, termed the IRS actions "unacceptable and un-American," and called on Mr. Obama to "find those individuals in his administration who are responsible and fire them."
Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) also condemned the agency's actions. "The administration should take swift action to get to the bottom of this to ensure those responsible for misconduct are held accountable and establish appropriate safeguards to prevent this from ever happening again," he said.
Sen. Mark Warner, also a Virginia Democrat, said that a "quick and thorough investigation" should be carried out by the administration and that those found responsible for the "betrayal of the public trust" should be fired.
—Jared A. Favole and Sarah Portlock contributed to this article.Write to John D. McKinnon at [email protected]