Obama: Targeting by IRS is ‘outrageous’

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Monday condemned the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service and vowed to punish anyone who may have taken part in it, as senators called for top IRS officials to resign and congressional committees prepared to investigate.

“I’ve got no patience with it,” Obama told reporters at the White House on Monday morning. “I will not tolerate it. And we’ll make sure that we find out exactly what happened on this.”

An official of the tax collections agency acknowledged Friday that conservative groups seeking nonprofit status were singled out for scrutiny during Obama’s first term in office. About 300 organizations were targeted, some because they had the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their applications.

Several senators called Monday for the firing or resignation of IRS officials as the political fallout over the agency’s targeting of conservative groups intensified on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., called for Obama to fire the officials involved. “The actions of the IRS are unacceptable and un-American,” he said. “The president must immediately condemn this attack on our values, find those individuals in his administration who are responsible and fire them.”

One Republican, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, said the IRS commissioner must resign; however the agency has no one in that role. The position, which requires Senate confirmation, is now filled by an acting commissioner. The former commissioner completed a four-year term in November. The White House has yet to nominate a new commissioner.

Rubio’s office clarified that the senator was calling on Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller to resign, noting that he was a deputy commissioner at the time the incidents occurred.

Congressional Republicans have long suspected conservative groups were targeted, and have been investigating the issue since late 2011. House Republicans have promised an investigation and the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said his committee would also investigate.

“The IRS should be prepared for a full investigation into this matter by the Senate Finance Committee,” said Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. “The IRS will now be the ones put under additional scrutiny.”

The IRS acknowledged Friday that it scrutinized the tax-exempt status of conservative groups during last year’s election. An inspector general’s report, due this week, will show that tea party groups were targeted in the application process for tax-exempt status; there were delays in processing returns of conservative political applications; and there were unnecessary questionnaires of conservative groups, according to GOP aides who asked for anonymity to discuss the unreleased report.

Speaking to reporters in the East Room, Obama said he learned of the matter from news reports last week. “I think it was on Friday,” he said.

He did not address a timeline from the upcoming inspector general’s report that indicates at least one top IRS official knew of the matter as early as June 29, 2011, long before the IRS commissioner adamantly denied such targeting efforts before Congress in March 2012.

Instead, Obama said he would not comment on the findings of the investigation. But he argued that Americans should be able to trust that the IRS is applying federal law in a nonpartisan way.

“If you’ve got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and nonpartisan way, then that is outrageous,” Obama said. “It is contrary to our traditions, and people have to be held accountable and it’s got to be fixed.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.