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alp227

(32,005 posts)
Mon May 20, 2013, 08:03 PM May 2013

White House Says It Didn’t Loop Obama In on I.R.S. Inquiry

Source: new york times

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 I.R.S. inspector general informed the White House counsel’s office about the agency’s nearly finished 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 didn’t 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.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/us/politics/white-house-says-obama-was-kept-out-of-loop-on-irs-inquiry.html

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patrice

(47,992 posts)
5. Why? Was he supposed to do something about it one way or the other? Or was he supposed
Mon May 20, 2013, 09:43 PM
May 2013

to modify something else somehow because of what the IRS was working on?

indepat

(20,899 posts)
2. Could it be the information was not passed on from his senior staff to the president because it
Mon May 20, 2013, 08:18 PM
May 2013

did not rise to that? Does anyone believe his senior staff would have failed to tell the president if this information rose to that?

Tx4obama

(36,974 posts)
3. Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) knew back in July 2012 before the election and never said anything.
Mon May 20, 2013, 08:29 PM
May 2013

If the GOPers had wanted to 'falsely' accuse Obama of ignoring the IRS issue in order to benefit him in winning the election - Issa had the opportunity to say so back then but didnt'.

Roland99

(53,342 posts)
6. Isn't there a recently passed law that prohibits a President from being involved in IRS decisions?
Tue May 21, 2013, 07:19 AM
May 2013

Thought I read that up here a couple of weeks ago but I cannot find that post now.

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