WASHINGTON — An inspector general’s report released Tuesday blamed “ineffective management” for the Internal Revenue Service’s failure to halt a program that singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny.
RELATED: PRESIDENT OBAMA, CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS SLAM THE IRS FOR SINGLING OUT CONSERVATIVE GROUPS
The IRS failed to act for 18 months after the program was first flagged as inappropriate, the report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said.
President Obama called the findings “intolerable and inexcusable” Tuesday night.
RELATED: OBAMA SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR IRS TARGETING: SENATOR
The report was released as Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a joint Justice Department-FBI investigation into whether the agency broke the law when it targeted conservative nonprofits applying for tax-exempt status as “social welfare” organizations.
Holder called the alleged focus on those groups “outrageous” but not necessarily criminal, while congressional Democrats began pushing back Tuesday against what they called Republican efforts to hype the controversy.
RELATED: IRS OFFICIALS KNEW AGENTS WERE TARGETING TEA PARTY: REPORT
“Shadowy political groups masquerading as social welfare organizations in order to solicit anonymous donations” is a real issue, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.
“What has Karl Rove ever done to improve the social welfare of the United States?" Reid asked, referring to the former George W. Bush aide whose American Crossroads holds the social welfare designation. But the report left Republicans pushing for more information.
RELATED: IRS APOLOGIZES FOR PROBING CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL GROUPS
“We still do not know why the targeting began, how extensive it was, who initiated it and who knew about it,” said House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose panel is one of four congressional committees investigating the matter.
The report says no one outside the IRS influenced the Cincinnati-based employees who singled out groups with words like “Tea Party” in their title.
[email protected] and [email protected]
