Cats out of the Bag IRS-targeting-scandal/

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen claims there was no IRS “targeting” of Conservative groups. The IRS was simply using “inappropriate criteria” to select certain organizations for review. That sounds like “bureaucratese” to me.

Koskinen testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on March 25.

“The Inspector General found inappropriate criteria were used to select organizations for further review – he did not refer to it as targeting,” Koskinen told the committee. “Yes, inappropriate criteria were used. I don’t think I used the word target, but I do acknowledge that applications were delayed unnecessarily and for too long.”

Koskinen tried to defend his testimony by referring to the May 2013 report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration that was titled “Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to Identify Tax-Exempt Applications for Review,” but even the Inspector General Russell George used the term “targeted” in his congressional testimony.

From The Washington Post:

We understand the public relations concern about acknowledging that the IRS engaged in targeting of conservative groups. But the cat’s out of the bag, given an official IRS report has used the phrase and both George and Koskinen have used it in public testimony.

The IG’s report was carefully written, but at this point, it is silly and counterproductive for Koskinen to fall back on bureaucratese — or even deny that the phrase “targeting” had been used. While perhaps technically correct in terms of the report, this is a slender reed to hide behind. After all, George publicly said that all three allegations of “targeting” were proven, and that using “inappropriate criteria” was the equivalent of “targeting.” That demonstrates that the term “inappropriate criteria” is simply a euphemism. Accept that means “targeting,” and move on.

The IG report found, the IRS

1. Targeted specific groups applying for tax-exempt status
2. Delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications
3. Requested unnecessary information from targeted groups

The report concluded, “The IRS used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax‑exempt status based upon their names or policy positions instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention.”

Here is what George had to say when he spoke before Congress about his report on May 22, 2013:

“The three allegations considered during our review were proven true. The IRS targeted specific groups applying for tax-exempt status. It delayed the processing of these groups’ applications, and requested unnecessary information, as well as subjected these groups to special scrutiny.”

“The inappropriate criteria discussed in this audit were the IRS’s targeting for review Tea Party and other organizations based on their names or policy positions, a practice started in 2012, and which was not fully corrected until May 2012. Actually the practice was started in 2010 and not fully corrected until May of 2012.”

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Pay close attention to the word choice. George said all three allegations that concerned “targeting” were “proven true.” He specifically said that the “inappropriate criteria” was defined as “IRS’s targeting.” It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

http://madworldnews.com/cats-bag-irs-targeting-scandal/