Getty Images By Chip Somodevilla
Getty Images By Chip Somodevilla
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Finally after a long wait, the Senate Finance Committee has released a bipartisan report on the IRS scandal.

Chairman Hatch issued an executive summary outlining a number of the findings of the report.

Among them, the report found that:

  • “[T]he IRS systemically selected Tea Party and other conservative organizations for heightened scrutiny, in a manner wholly different from how the IRS processed applications submitted by left-leaning and nonpartisan organizations.”
  • “[O]ur investigation revealed an environment within the IRS where the political bias of individual employees like Lois Lerner can, and sometimes does, influence decisions.”
  • “[T]he IRS has shown a pattern of continually misleading Congress about its handling of applications submitted by Tea Party organizations.”
  • “[S]oon after the Obama Administration began a concerted effort to constrain spending on political speech, the IRS and other executive agencies began scrutinizing conservative organizations that had, or sought, tax-exempt status.”
  • “[T]he IRS harmed the Committee’s investigation by failing to properly preserve a significant portion of Lois Lerner’s email, resulting in its loss, and then concealing that loss from the Committee for months.”

In addition to the above findings there are other serious problems at the IRS, including:

  • Management lacked an appreciation for the sensitivity and volatility of the political advocacy applications and allowed employees to use inappropriate screening criteria. (See Sections III(A) and III(B) of the Bipartisan Investigative Report.)
  • The IRS lacked any sense of customer service for organizations that applied for tax exempt status. (See Section III(E)(1) of the Bipartisan Investigative Report.)
  • The IRS improperly disclosed taxpayer information of numerous conservative organizations. (See Section IX(C) of the Bipartisan Investigative Report.)
  • In 2010, a freelance reporter made a FOIA request for documents related to the IRS’s handling of Tea Party applications. The IRS identified responsive documents, but elected not to produce them, thereby precluding early public scrutiny of its treatment of Tea Party applicants. (See Section IX(B) of the Bipartisan Investigative report.)
To read the entire report please click on the following link:

What are your thoughts about the report?

Did they go far enough?

Are you concerned about the power that the IRS has and how they wield it?

Do you feel like the IRS is now a politically motivated agency?

Let’s discuss this today on my show The Live with Renk show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.

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