Outrageous': IRS Agent Stuns Members of Congress With Claim About Targeting Scandal

(FILE)

An unidentified IRS agent told members Congress that the embattled tax agency is still targeting conservative groups three months after the scandal came to light, according to testimony released Thursday by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.).

During closed-door testimony, the agent reportedly told members of the committee that requests for tax-exempt status by Tea Party groups are still being subjected to "secondary screening," at least in his office.

When asked what he would do with an application from a Tea Party group even if there was no evidence of political activity, the IRS agent replied: "At this point I would send it to secondary screening, political advocacy."

"So you would treat a Tea Party group as a political advocacy case even if there was no evidence of political activity on the application. Is that right?" a committee investigator asked.

"Based on my current manager's direction, uh-huh," the agent repeated.

The IRS official said the so-called "be on the lookout" or BOLO list has been suspended, but no further direction on how to process applications from conservative groups has been provided.

"If a political advocacy case came in today, I would give it -- or talk about it to my manager because right now we really don't have any direction or we haven't had any for the last month and a half," he said, according to the testimony.

Camp called the allegations of continued political targeting by the IRS "outrageous."

The Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard provides the transcript of the IRS agent's testimony:

Wednesday, August 1, 2013

Committee: Today, currently, how do you analyze advocacy cases. If, for example, Tea Party of Arkansas came in today, how would you handle it?

IRS agent: Well, the BOLO list doesn't exist anymore.

Committee: Sure.

IRS: If a political advocacy case came in today, I would give it -- or talk about it to my manager because right now we really don't have any direction or we haven't had any for the last month and a half.

------

Committee: If you saw -- I am asking this currently, if today if a Tea Party case, a group -- a case from a Tea Party group came in to your desk, you reviewed the file and there was no evidence of political activity, would you potentially approve that case? Is that something you would do?

IRS agent: At this point I would send it to secondary screening, political advocacy.

Committee: So you would treat a Tea Party group as a political advocacy case even if there was no evidence of political activity on the application. Is that right?

IRS agent: Based on my current manager's direction, uh-huh.

–

[related]