There are two more bits of information that came out yesterday which further expand the scope of the IRS scandal.
First, it turns out that the IRS itself has now identified 88 employees of the agency who have documents or files that pertain to the targeting of conservative groups and individuals. This is not a claim by some Tea Party group; it is what the IRS itself says. Let's take a moment to consider what this means. We cannot conclude that these 88 people were the only ones involved in the persecution of conservatives; some of those involved may not still have relevant documents in their possession. Nor can we conclude that every person among the 88 took part in targeting the conservatives. What we can conclude, however, with reasonable certainty is that there had to be some number of people at least close to 88 who took part in the targeting. There could be a few who somehow got relevant documents without taking part, but nearly all of the 88 would likely be participants. This is yet another confirmation that the IRS actions were not the work of a few rogue agents in Cincinnati. There are too many people involved for that story to be told anymore. We also know that there will likely be some IRS agents who will choose to testify about what happened rather than follow the former commissioner and claim no knowledge or Ms. Lerner who refused to testify so as not to incriminate herself. The truth will come out.
Second, we also learned that the wife of the former commissioner is the Senior Program Advisor for a group called Public Campaign. Public Campaign is a left wing organization dedicated to stopping the use of what it calls "special interest money" in campaigns. The so called "special interest money" that Public Campaign focuses on is exactly the money raised by tax exempt organizations like the Tea Party groups that were harassed by the IRS. Is it any wonder that the IRS commission did nothing to stop the practice of persecuting conservatives groups and individuals during the year about which he admits to being aware of that illegal practice when it turns out that his wife was leading the charge against the very groups targeted? It is hard to believe that this scandal could get worse, but it just keeps happening.
First, it turns out that the IRS itself has now identified 88 employees of the agency who have documents or files that pertain to the targeting of conservative groups and individuals. This is not a claim by some Tea Party group; it is what the IRS itself says. Let's take a moment to consider what this means. We cannot conclude that these 88 people were the only ones involved in the persecution of conservatives; some of those involved may not still have relevant documents in their possession. Nor can we conclude that every person among the 88 took part in targeting the conservatives. What we can conclude, however, with reasonable certainty is that there had to be some number of people at least close to 88 who took part in the targeting. There could be a few who somehow got relevant documents without taking part, but nearly all of the 88 would likely be participants. This is yet another confirmation that the IRS actions were not the work of a few rogue agents in Cincinnati. There are too many people involved for that story to be told anymore. We also know that there will likely be some IRS agents who will choose to testify about what happened rather than follow the former commissioner and claim no knowledge or Ms. Lerner who refused to testify so as not to incriminate herself. The truth will come out.
Second, we also learned that the wife of the former commissioner is the Senior Program Advisor for a group called Public Campaign. Public Campaign is a left wing organization dedicated to stopping the use of what it calls "special interest money" in campaigns. The so called "special interest money" that Public Campaign focuses on is exactly the money raised by tax exempt organizations like the Tea Party groups that were harassed by the IRS. Is it any wonder that the IRS commission did nothing to stop the practice of persecuting conservatives groups and individuals during the year about which he admits to being aware of that illegal practice when it turns out that his wife was leading the charge against the very groups targeted? It is hard to believe that this scandal could get worse, but it just keeps happening.
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