nyt, from the op:
The inspector general gave Republicans some fodder Friday when he divulged that he informed the Treasury’s general counsel he was auditing the I.R.S.’s screening of politically active groups seeking tax exemptions on June 4, 2012. He told Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin “shortly after,” he said. That meant Obama administration officials were aware of the matter during the presidential campaign year.
lisa myers, nbc news, on coffee joe this morning:
[The IRS commissioner] has known for at least a year that this was going on and that this had happened. And did he share any of that information with the White House? But even more importantly, Congress is going to ask him, why did you mislead us for an entire year? Members of Congress were saying conservatives are being targeted. What's going on here? The IRS denied it. Then when -- after these officials are briefed by the IG that this is going on, they don't disclose it. In fact, the commissioner sent a letter to Congress in September on this subject and did not reveal this. Imagine if we -- if you can -- what would have happened if this fact came out in September 2012, in the middle of a presidential election? The terrain would have looked very different.
NBC: Why Did IRS Mislead Congress For An Entire Year? | RealClearPolitics
yesterday the prevaricating potus was asked by bloomberg news...
he could NOT state unequivocally that he didn't know about the criminal behavior that was going on in this irs
Bloomberg TV: “Can you assure the American people that nobody in the White House knew about the agency’s actions before your counsel’s office found out on April 22nd?”
President Obama’s response: “I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the Inspector General report before the IG report had been leaked to the press."
U.S.-Turkey Relations - C-SPAN Video Library
moments later he added: "in terms of the white house and reporting, i think that, you know, you've gotten that information from mr carney and others... you know, i, i promise you this---the minute
I [emphasis his] found out about it then my main focus is making sure that we get the thing fixed"
politico:
Though the White House counsel’s office was informed of the IRS probe in late April, Obama has insisted that he only learned about the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups through media reports last Friday. But he wouldn’t say definitively that the White House was unaware of the targeting before then.
Obama pushes back on IRS, AP, Benghazi - Jennifer Epstein - POLITICO.com
which is all pretty ugly and all, y'all...
except what you don't seem quite yet to be appreciating is
we've only just begun
irs hearings and headlines are going to be a permanent part of your little dp experience into perpetuity
we're gonna subpoena, we're gonna depose, we're gonna go special prosecutor
and sander levin aint gonna be able to say a word against us
listen to max trainwreck baucus (do you hate HIM yet?)
It's broader than the current focus. And I think it's important that we have the hearings, and I think that will encourage other information to come out that has not yet come out. I suspect that we will learn more in the next several days, maybe the next couple three weeks which adds more context to all of this," added Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Democrat Baucus warns: More to come out on IRS scandal | WashingtonExaminer.com
we've already learned quite a lot (which you can't for a whit refute---tho you'll continue to talk, it's what you do...)
1. nyt: "obama admin knew of irs scandal 5 months before election"
2. politico: "he wouldn't say definitively that the white house was unaware of the targeting before then [april 22]"
stay tuned