"White House Says It Didn’t Loop Obama In on I.R.S. Inquiry"
White House Says It Didnt Loop Obama In on I.R.S. Inquiry
By PETER BAKER and JONATHAN WEISMAN at the NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/us/politics/white-house-says-obama-was-kept-out-of-loop-on-irs-inquiry.html?smid=re-share&_r=0
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WASHINGTON White House officials were first notified on April 16 about an investigation into Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of conservative groups and discussed its potential findings with the Treasury Department but never told President Obama, the White House said Monday.
The Treasury Departments legal office informed the White House counsels office about the nearly finished I.R.S. audit along with other reviews nearly a month before its release, the White House said. Kathryn Ruemmler, the White House counsel, was personally told on April 24, and she notified the White House chief of staff, Denis McDonough, and other senior aides without informing the president, the White House said.
She made the decision or the judgment that it was not necessary or appropriate to inform the president of this, and that didnt happen, said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary. And most importantly, no action was taken by anyone in this building to intervene.
He added that the president would not have acted even if he had known. Obviously, that would be wholly inappropriate, Mr. Carney said.
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