[h=3]By SIOBHAN HUGHES[/h]WASHINGTON—Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of conservative groups started earlier than previously known, and an official in Washington D.C. knew of the practice as early as 2011, contradicting earlier testimony, two revelations set to compound the growing storm over the IRS's actions.
According to a timeline contained in a Treasury Department inspector general report, which is set for release this week, scrutiny of tea-party and other conservative groups seeking tax exempt status began as early as 2010, and came to the attention of Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS tax-exempt organizations division, at least by the following year.
As early as 2010, IRS agents had been told to be on the lookout for tea-party applications, focusing on groups with names like "Tea Party," "Patriots," "9/12," or "We the People," the report said.
Ms. Lerner raised concerns in 2011 about the criteria that agents in a Cincinnati, Ohio, IRS office were using to screen applications, according to the report. The criteria were changed in July 2011 to "organizations involved in political, lobbying, or advocacy" seeking exemption under section 501c(3) and 501c(4) of the tax code after Ms. Lerner raised concerns, the report said.
Previously, IRS officials, in congressional testimony, had denied targeting tea-party groups. Then-IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in March 2012 told the Ways and Means Committee that the agency was not targeting conservative groups. On Friday, when the IRS apologized for doing just that, officials said the improper actions were taken by career employees, not political appointees, implying that senior officials weren't involved.
The brouhaha, which has been rumbling for a while, exploded Friday when the IRS apologized for what it said were mistakes in targeting tea-party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny during the 2012 election campaign. It said its actions weren't politically motivated. It wasn't known that the scrutiny stretched back as long as two years before that point.
In early 2012, reports surfaced that newly formed tea-party and other conservative groups that had applied for tax-exempt status were receiving letters from the IRS asking for disclosure of their donors and other information that typically isn't requested of groups making such applications.
The regulation of politically active non-profit groups has been a hot political issue for years since electioneering groups started organizing through this portion of the tax code, which wasn't designed with those specific activities in mind. The IRS had said it was considering changes in the regulation of politically active non-profit groups to address the question of whether their work justified their tax-exempt status, which allows such groups to avoid disclosing their donors. Many Republicans pushed back, saying that the IRS was trying to influence the 2012 elections.
After Ms. Lerner's 2011 intervention, an IRS unit determined those new criteria were too generic, and agents in January 2012 were asked to watch for political-action type organizations involved in limiting or expanding government, educating on the constitution and Bill of Rights, and social economic reform or movements, the inspector-general report said. Many conservative groups focus on such issues.
By May 2012, the screening process changed again and IRS agents were told to be on the lookout for organizations with signs of significant political intervention, raising questions about the purpose of their tax-exempt status, the report said.
On Saturday, the IRS said its "senior leadership was not aware of this level of specific details" from the inspector general report in March 2012, when Mr. Shulman testified. The IRS repeated its written comments from Friday.
The Ways and Means Committee plans hearings on the matter. The panel has been investigating the issue for two years following complaints from tea party and other conservative groups about being subjected to questionnaires from the IRS that some said had a chilling effect on their applications.
"This timeline reveals at least two extremely unethical actions by the IRS," said Rep. Charles Boustany (R., La.), who heads a subcommittee on the panel. "One, as early as 2010, they targeted groups for political purposes. Two, they willfully and knowingly lied to Congress for years despite being aware that Congress was investigating this practice. This is an outrageous abuse of power."
According to a timeline contained in a Treasury Department inspector general report, which is set for release this week, scrutiny of tea-party and other conservative groups seeking tax exempt status began as early as 2010, and came to the attention of Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS tax-exempt organizations division, at least by the following year.
As early as 2010, IRS agents had been told to be on the lookout for tea-party applications, focusing on groups with names like "Tea Party," "Patriots," "9/12," or "We the People," the report said.
Ms. Lerner raised concerns in 2011 about the criteria that agents in a Cincinnati, Ohio, IRS office were using to screen applications, according to the report. The criteria were changed in July 2011 to "organizations involved in political, lobbying, or advocacy" seeking exemption under section 501c(3) and 501c(4) of the tax code after Ms. Lerner raised concerns, the report said.
Previously, IRS officials, in congressional testimony, had denied targeting tea-party groups. Then-IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in March 2012 told the Ways and Means Committee that the agency was not targeting conservative groups. On Friday, when the IRS apologized for doing just that, officials said the improper actions were taken by career employees, not political appointees, implying that senior officials weren't involved.
The brouhaha, which has been rumbling for a while, exploded Friday when the IRS apologized for what it said were mistakes in targeting tea-party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny during the 2012 election campaign. It said its actions weren't politically motivated. It wasn't known that the scrutiny stretched back as long as two years before that point.
In early 2012, reports surfaced that newly formed tea-party and other conservative groups that had applied for tax-exempt status were receiving letters from the IRS asking for disclosure of their donors and other information that typically isn't requested of groups making such applications.
The regulation of politically active non-profit groups has been a hot political issue for years since electioneering groups started organizing through this portion of the tax code, which wasn't designed with those specific activities in mind. The IRS had said it was considering changes in the regulation of politically active non-profit groups to address the question of whether their work justified their tax-exempt status, which allows such groups to avoid disclosing their donors. Many Republicans pushed back, saying that the IRS was trying to influence the 2012 elections.
After Ms. Lerner's 2011 intervention, an IRS unit determined those new criteria were too generic, and agents in January 2012 were asked to watch for political-action type organizations involved in limiting or expanding government, educating on the constitution and Bill of Rights, and social economic reform or movements, the inspector-general report said. Many conservative groups focus on such issues.
By May 2012, the screening process changed again and IRS agents were told to be on the lookout for organizations with signs of significant political intervention, raising questions about the purpose of their tax-exempt status, the report said.
On Saturday, the IRS said its "senior leadership was not aware of this level of specific details" from the inspector general report in March 2012, when Mr. Shulman testified. The IRS repeated its written comments from Friday.
The Ways and Means Committee plans hearings on the matter. The panel has been investigating the issue for two years following complaints from tea party and other conservative groups about being subjected to questionnaires from the IRS that some said had a chilling effect on their applications.
"This timeline reveals at least two extremely unethical actions by the IRS," said Rep. Charles Boustany (R., La.), who heads a subcommittee on the panel. "One, as early as 2010, they targeted groups for political purposes. Two, they willfully and knowingly lied to Congress for years despite being aware that Congress was investigating this practice. This is an outrageous abuse of power."