McConnell Decries ‘Thuggish’ Obama Administration

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Roll Call:

McConnell Decries ‘Thuggish’ Obama Administration

 

By Niels LesniewskiPosted at 2:51 p.m. on May 10, 2013

 

Updated 6:04 pm | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wants a review of what he’s calling ”thuggish practices” by the Obama administration, after an IRS official acknowledged that conservative political groups were improperly targeted by the agency.

 

“Today’s acknowledgment by the Obama administration that the IRS did in fact target conservative groups in the heat of last year’s national election is not enough,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement. “Today, I call on the White House to conduct a transparent, government-wide review aimed at assuring the American people that these thuggish practices are not underway at the IRS or elsewhere in the administration against anyone, regardless of their political views.”

 

Lois G. Lerner, the head of the IRS Exempt Organizations division, disclosed the improper targeting of non-profit groups with terms such as “tea party” and “patriot” in their names at an American Bar Association conference Friday, The Associated Press reported.

 

In a statement issued in response, the IRS said that errors made by “local career employees in Cincinnati” happened but

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Playing politics with tax records

By Editorial Board,

 

May 11, 2013 12:44 AM EDT

The Washington PostPublished: May 10

 

A BEDROCK principle of U.S. democracy is that the coercive powers of government are never used for partisan purpose. The law is blind to political viewpoint, and so are its enforcers, most especially the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service. Any violation of this principle threatens the trust and the voluntary cooperation of citizens upon which this democracy depends.

 

So it was appalling to learn Friday that the IRS had improperly targeted conservative groups for scrutiny. It was almost as disturbing that President Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew have not personally apologized to the American people and promised a full investigation.

 

“Mistakes were made,” the agency said in a statement. IRS official Lois Lerner explained that staffers used a “shortcut” http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/playing-politics-with-tax-records/2013/05/10/e36dfe5a-b9b7-11e2-aa9e-a02b765ff0ea_story.html