Source: Two 'rogue' workers principally behind IRS targeting of conservatives

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

The Internal Revenue Service has identified two "rogue" employees in the agency's Cincinnati office as being principally responsible for "overly aggressive" handling of requests by conservative groups for tax-exempt status, a congressional source told CNN.

In a meeting on Capitol Hill, acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller described the employees as being "off the reservation," according to the source. It was not clear precisely what the alleged behavior involved.

Miller said the staffers have already been disciplined, according to another source familiar with Miller's discussions with congressional investigators. The second source said Miller emphasized that the problem with IRS handling of tax-exempt status for tea party groups was not limited to these two employees.

Miller met with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana on Tuesday to discuss an appearance before Congress.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/15/politics/irs-conservative-targeting/index.html

---

Stupidity

[pinto]

1. Kick (nt)

[marshall]

2. Who uses the term "off the reservation" nowdays?

It smacks of racism to me. Is it an antonym to being an "honest injun"?

[Control-Z]

5. That jumped out at me too. (nt)

[JustAnotherGen]

3. Tell me again

Why everyone is saying Eric Holder should step down for this too?

*Requesting the CALL LOGS of 20 'phone lines' in the press to see who a turn coat was on a National Security issue.

*Obama cleared on acts of terror, terrorist actions, tear, teary eyed, acts of valor, etc. etc.


And this. So does this mean there is now ONE less thing Holder and Obama did not PERSONALLY do to some teapublican who hates them both for being black and successful?

[zeemike]

4. Not as stupid as one might think.

Even if they get fired they have a good paying career with a right wing think tank or something like that...creating a scandal when the GOP needs one is priceless.

[Life Long Dem]

6. "off the reservation"

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=off%20the%20reservation

[marshall]

10. Those definitions make no reference to the phrase's racist origins

In days gone by, when Native Americans were forced to live on reservations, they were not allowed to leave without written permission from the US agent who was assigned to their area. If they left without such permission, they were termed "off the reservation." In that sense it is similar to the less racially charged term "AWOL."

[hrmjustin]

7. Sounds like they should be fired!

[Control-Z]

8. So my question is:

To what party do these two rogue employees belong?

[thefool_wa]

9. Am I the only person who feels this may have been justified?

The TEA Party is openly anti-tax, and in the vast majority believe the IRS and income tax as a whole to be illegal for any of several reasons. That said, people submitting tax-exempt status applications claiming affiliation with a group who openly oppose taxation SHOULD receive additional scrutiny to insure no fraudulent activity is being perpetrated.

I get that people on both sides think these things should be random, but fraud prevention is not a passive random thing, it takes attentiveness, investigation, and action.

I would be willing to bet that the two people involved were not possessed of such a noble mindset when they did this. I just feel the IRS missed an opportunity to own it, explain it in a way at least I would find justifiable, and just let it go away. Plus imagine the throbbing head veins on the right wing pundits when their "gotcha" moment turns into "yeah so?" moment.

The real issue this week is the DoJ, the IRS thing is just another red herring.

[Auntie Bush]

12. Agreed!

The IRS obviously had good reason to check out the Tea Party accounts more thoroughly. They'd be negligent not to. Many had already talked/complained about how ReThugs would hide their donations in these fraudulent accounts....wasn't no secret!

[Bandit]

11. IRS handling of tax-exempt status for tea party groups was not limited to these two employees.

Was it two rogue employees or wasn't it?

[Earth_First]

13. BENGHAZI! nt

[ehrnst]

14. Rove and Cbeney? (nt)