New Congressional Subpoenas of Treasury Department for IRS Documents Regarding Tea Party

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa sent a subpoena for U.S. Internal Revenue Service documents to the Treasury secretary, saying he thinks the agency’s chief counsel’s office is “compromised.” 

The IRS hasn’t been forthcoming in responding to committee requests for documents related to the agency’s scrutiny of Tea Party groups seeking tax exemptions, Issa, a California Republican, said today. He spoke at a hearing of a subcommittee of his panel in Washington and issued the subpoena afterward.

“You are slow-rolling us,” Issa told acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.

“That’s not true,” Werfel responded.

Issa’s move escalates the confrontation between Republicans and the administration over the IRS, which apologized in May for applying tougher scrutiny to Tea Party groups applying for tax-exempt status.

As Congress leaves for a five-week recess, Issa rejects President Barack Obama’s attempt to label the matter a “phony” scandal and insists that incomplete responses make it impossible to determine what happened and who was responsible.

At least four IRS officials have lost their positions. Seven congressional committees have opened inquiries into the IRS, requesting internal documents that would help explain how and why the agency scrutinized Tea Party groups.

“I’ve asked you for information; you’re not forthcoming,” Issa told Werfel. “The office of chief counsel, a politically appointed office, has been compromised.”

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(Commentary:  The Office of the Chief Counsel has Barack Obama's political appointee William Wilkens who is only 1 of 2 Obama appointees out of the 60,000 total employees.  The ties to the White House appear to be materializing, but Congress cannot seem to get timely cooperation.)

IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins a Big Donor and Loyal Democrat

 As witnesses have testified to the House Ways and Means Committee, the chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service may have played a role in the IRS’s practice of reserving special scrutiny for Tea Party and other conservative political groups. William Wilkins, chief counsel and one of two political appointees at the IRS, was “closely involved in some of the applications” for tax-exempt status, according to a press release from the committee.

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This is the face of a big donor to Barack Obama, William Wilkins.  He is one of only 2 political appointees by Barack Obama in the I.R.S. His office has been implicated in front of the U.S. Congress by I.R.S. employees in the targeting of TEA Party groups.

Congressional Testimony: IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins Office Played Part in Scandal - Obama Appointee

Career IRS employees have testified on Capitol Hill that the federal agency's chief counsel played a part in the scandal of targeting conservatives....

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IRS scoreboard: 100 percent of “targeted” liberal groups were approved, conservatives languished

A House Ways and Means Committee staff analysis of the applications of 111 conservative and progressive groups applying for tax exempt status found conservative applicants faced, “more questions, more denials, more delays,” says committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich. That is, when the IRS sent groups letters asking for further information, conservative groups were asked more questions — on average, three times more. All of the groups with “progressive” in their name were ultimately approved, while only 46 percent of conservative groups won approval. Others are still waiting for an answer or gave up.

Top I.R.S. Official Invokes the 5th Amendment in I.R.S. - TEA Party Scandal

Lois Lerner, the top I.R.S. official invokes the 5th Amendment in I.R.S. - TEA Party Scandal

She has since been placed on PAID administrative leave.  Two other top officials have already "resigned".

I.R.S. Apologizes to Tea Party Groups Over Audits of Applications for Tax Exemption

By JONATHAN WEISMAN - Published: May 10, 2013 

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service apologized to Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations on Friday for what it now says were overzealous audits of their applications for tax-exempt status.  

Lois Lerner, the director of the I.R.S. division that oversees tax-exempt groups, acknowledged that the agency had singled out nonprofit applicants with the terms “Tea Party” or “patriots” in their titles in an effort to respond to a surge in applications for tax-exempt status between 2010 and 2012. 

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