IRS mess isn't going away anytime soon

[ProSense]

IRS mess isn't going away anytime soon

By Steve Benen

Here's a sentence from today's Politico that's worth keeping in mind: "Top GOP sources acknowledge that it's highly unlikely the White House was directly involved in the IRS mess, but the probe is sure to add to the Republican-spun narrative of Democratic, Big Government overreach."

I see. Republicans realize that the IRS controversy really doesn't have anything to do with President Obama -- who has publicly condemned the IRS's actions as "outrageous" -- and to characterize this as some kind of White House scandal is absurd. But that's secondary to the "narrative."

Some of us, however, care less about narratives and more about facts.

And with that in mind, the Washington Post appears to have some additional relevant facts this morning.

Internal Revenue Service officials in Washington and at least two other offices were involved with investigating conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, making clear that the effort reached well beyond the branch in Cincinnati that was initially blamed, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

IRS officials at the agency's Washington headquarters sent queries to conservative groups asking about their donors and other aspects of their operations, while officials in the El Monte and Laguna Niguel offices in California sent similar questionnaires to tea-party-affiliated groups, the documents show.

The story, at first blush, appears to be growing. This is not just about some low-level staffers in Cincinnati, we're now hearing, there's reason to think conservative groups elsewhere were subjected to increased scrutiny while seeking tax-exempt status, too.

- more -

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/05/14/18249064-irs-mess-isnt-going-away-anytime-soon

"GOP sources acknowledge"?

Frankly, I think Republicans are realizing the opened a can of worms: http://upload.democraticunderground.com/10022836780

I'm sure there is a lot more to this story.

Lawyers Demand IRS Approve 10 Targeted Tea Party Groups
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/lawyers-demand-irs-approve-10-targeted-tea-party

"IRS Acted Alone In Developing Targeting Criteria For Conservative Groups: Report"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022839543

The Last Word: The real IRS scandal (video)
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755883/ns/msnbc-the_last_word/vp/51872940#51872940

The head of the IRS is a Bush appointee
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022836081

IRS trolling Tea Party and conservatives was wrong, but these political groups invited IRS scrutiny
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022836332

Was the IRS targeting political organizations, or not? Republicans can't have it both ways
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022836622

[WCGreen]

1. Just for snicks...

I wonder how many of these non-partisan, non-political tax exempt organizations turned out to be in violation.