Darrell Issa: IRS' So-Called 'Rogue' Agents 'Directly Being Ordered From Washington'

[onehandle]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service agents who inappropriately targeted conservative groups had been following orders from the Obama administration, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said on Sunday.

And he called the administration's top spokesman a liar.

Last month the IRS said it had identified two "rogue agents" in the department's Cincinnati office who were overly aggressive in the handling of Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status. Issa said his committee has found otherwise.

"As late as last week the administration's still trying to say there's a few rogue agents in Cincinnati when in fact the indication is they were directly being ordered from Washington," Issa told Candy Crowley on CNN's "State of the Union."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/02/darrell-issa-irs-_n_3374592.html

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[Cooley Hurd]

1. Rec'd for that awesome pic!

[ewagner]

2. "...the indication is...."

actually a bunch of suspicions, rumors, half-truths and faux news stories.

[classykaren]

29. Suspicions rumors half-truths and Faux news stories

A great title for a Country song.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

34. Issa and money laundering

Mr. Abramoff's friend, Issa may realize that these are TEA Party fronts for billionaire money laudering schemes. Issa and colleagues don't want this to be uncovered so they blame Obama.

[Initech]

32. Yup, it's a fabricated Fox News conspiracy theory.

I'm sick of that network thinking they can get away with it. If we had a regulated media, they wouldn't. The Tea Party are bought and paid for by the upper 1%, FACT!!!!! Darell Issa is an embarrassment to my state, and I don't know why they even elected that convicted felon, let alone that he gets this much power.

[AnnieK401]

3. I'm very angry about this "scandal"

Angry that anyone apologized for the IRS doing it's job. These groups are trying to get tax exempt status (which costs taxpayers) so they can run ads spreading lies and they receive an apology.

[elleng]

5. THANKS, AnnieK.

[another_liberal]

11. I agree!

The President and his administration only made themselves appear guilty by apologizing.

[mountain grammy]

20. You're correct. I'm angry too for the same reasons.

[DallasNE]

23. It Is Not The Tax Exempt Angle

They can apply as a PAC and get tax exempt status. But a PAC requires that large donors names be made public. The issue is strictly the secret donors. Who is buying our government. The law as written has clarity. It says that these 501(c)(4) groups must exclusively spend their money on their designated social welfare activities. It is internal IRS rulings that have muddied the waters by issuing orders that directly contradict the language of the law. Those waters were muddied as far back as the Eisenhower administration.

[PatrynXX]

24. apology for what

1. didn't need to ask 2. they weren't denied. no scandal.

[calimary]

27. Seems to me THAT is the real scandal.

Since when to those wrong-wing political groups with political agendas and political aims and political underpinnings and political donors with their own ulterior political motives get the hands-off treatment? Seems to me the IRS was following the rules there. When they looked into Occupy, nobody said a word - and Occupy WAS and IS a social welfare group. The teabaggers and their groups are anything but.

It's also disgusting to me that this hasn't been thoroughly reported, either. The press is asleep at the wheel, again, as usual.

[classykaren]

30. You are right calimary

Didn't the teabaggers just pay 63 Million to oust a Tea Party leader recently???

[calimary]

38. Hey, as long as they're squandering it on eating their own.

Instead of using it to attack our side all the frickin' time.

[hrmjustin]

4. I love this picture.

[another_liberal]

6. He stuck his neck out this time.

That is, of course, a very good way to get your political head cut off.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

36. In case people don't know Issa's shady past.....

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/martin-bashir-reminds-viewers-darrell-issas

'paragon of virtue' not

[another_liberal]

42. Yep, and if justice had been served . . .

If Justice had truly been served in regard to Congressman Issa's "youthful indiscretions," he wouldn't even be allowed to vote in most States, let alone serve in Congress.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

45. I'm surprised that a felon should be allowed to run for Congress

[another_liberal]

46. Was Issa ever convicted of a felony?

My understanding was that he always got the charges significantly reduced, or dodged them entirely with the help of his lawyers.

[bahrbearian]

7. Wasn't Issa meeting with the IRS through out 2011-2012, doesn't he work in Washington?

[SoapBox]

8. Lying Fuckhead.

EOM.

[chuckstevens]

9. Expose the Bastard!

This guy has the creditability of Sen Joe McCarthy! Her is a theft, felon, a compulsive liar, and a major BULLSHIT artist! Why won't the lamestream media tell the county what a complete fraud Issa is?

[SunSeeker]

10. Looks like he just got his daily Koch brother injection. nt

[OKNancy]

12. Oh hell, if it was from "Washington" it was probably a mainstream Republican who did it

They have the most to fear from the tea party.

[siligut]

13. The IRS did not inappropriately target conservative groups

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service agents who inappropriately targeted conservative groups had been following orders from the Obama administration, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said on Sunday.

And he called the administration's top spokesman a liar.

The groups filed for tax exempt status, which stood out as unusual so they were flagged. The teabaggers made an error and like any error with the IRS it is investigated.

This is just more GOP obfuscation and obstruction.

The pic of Issa . . .

[ZRT2209]

15. too bad for Issa that everyone other than tea baggers are sick of his shit

[PuffedMica]

18. Stupid teabaggers can't figure it out

They apply for tax exempt status for a group that is allowed limited political action, but majority of their action is one sided political action. They just can't figure out that an organization that is entirely political in nature, is not a limited political organization and draws an IRS audit.

Now the teabaggers have a bird dog Congressman who would rather wage partisan warfare instead of serving the people getting quality face time on FOX News, and the Republicans and Libertarians are just eating it up. When it get to the point that the public finds out that there is nothing there, this Issa dude's career is going to be put in a hole so deep, he won't even be able to pick vegetables in the valley for a living.

[siligut]

37. Stupid teabaggers don't want to figure it out

Teabagger types find security in group think and siding with the winners. Of course, the GOP is in no way winners, but with control of the media and their unethical skills of manipulation, teabaggers believe they are.

And the way they play the game, Issa's inaccuracies will be long forgotten and NO ONE in the media will bring them up.

[Iliyah]

14. ABC is already running with this story

go figure. Please vote these gopers out in 2014! IRS did nothing wrong and Washington who knew was Issa. Is he trying to cover-up himself from an lying sack of shit.

[timdog44]

16. To call someone

a liar, without evidence used to be a big no, no and punishable by law. Apparently anyone can say anything now. And he has a lot of baggage to run around saying things like this. He does not have a very trustworthy past.

The point is, like I have said all along on this IRS thing is, everyone trying to get tax exempt status should have been vetted. No favorites that way. The person who said that conservative groups were being singled out was not doing her job if that was happening. And she should lose her job and pension for that. She was in a position to make things happen the right and did not.

And the administration should not have ever apologized for anything that happened. The examples that have been given of having been unfairly vetted, are groups that are obviously unAmerican groups who should move out of America because of their beliefs. I am sure there are many fascist countries they could live in.

[still_one]

21. They should call Issa out for his McCarthy tactics, accusations

Without proof

Not sure if it is illegal though since they are regarded as public officials

However, the best way to throw it back to the repukes is to vote them out

Easier said than done since the much of the populous is not well informed

[Triana]

17. Unless he has clear, documented, indisputable PROOF of his claim...

...it's bullshit. "The indication" is that Darryl Issa, a criminal himself, is making claims which he cannot factually back up.

[okaawhatever]

19. They could target those groups without it being political. The IRS could easily have targeted them

because of questions about the leaders of some of the groups. The early tea party groups had quite a few suspect characters. Both CREW and another watchdog group sent letters to the IRS asking that they be investigated. Also, IRS approval is not required to call yourself a 501(c)4 organization so it doesn't stop you or slow you down from collecting money. Turns out Stephne Colbert's pac, which is a 501(c)4 org had not even appied with the IRS until last week. (He did it on TV). Also, most CPA's would have filled the paperwork out correctly, avoiding many of the issues, (Nate Silver I believe did a study on how most of the apps had filed ut paperwork incorrectly). I question whether the tea party was setting up the IRS. Why would a group like that mess with the IRS, without professional assistance, when they could have done the same thing without them?

[Rozlee]

22. Great pic. It would be more realistic if it was green pea soup

and his head was spinning.

[BlueMTexpat]

25. Issa is just rushing to take over Michele Bachmann's

crazy title!

Would the M$M finally grow some and call him out? Just once! Please.

[madrchsod]

26. he`s going to have to show his hand...

if you are going to call in this game of political power you had better have 4 aces and a king.

put up or shut the fuck up.

[kestrel91316]

28. Where else are they supposed to take orders from? Poughkeepsie??

The IRS is part of the FEDERAL government, and that's based in............

wait for it.............

.........................Washington, DC.

[marshall]

31. Good luck proving that

Even if some low level toad winked and nodded his intentions, it will never be proven.

[madville]

43. Supposedly there are emails

According to the witnesses so far. Congress has requested thousands of emails and is now waiting for them to be turned over. Anything they currently have is hearsay from everyone in CYA mode.

[alp227]

33. Show us the proof, Darrell!

Even SenaTurtle Mitch McConnell admitted that he lacked evidence of what he called a "culture of intimidation" by Obama's WH against conservatives.

[1StrongBlackMan]

35. So ...

With respect to issa's saying he would "eventually" release the full transcript ... Why didn't Crowley ask issa, "why eventually? Why not just release the whole transcript now so that why can understand the context of the statement?"

Oh, that's right ... that would spoil several days/weeks of the gop narrative, before it benghazis (is exposed as a lie, that is dutifully ignored by the media).

[John2]

39. Ir is my entire

point about this Congress when you have dishonest people serving in it like Issa. If they are doing shady things on this, then they will do it on other issues. They manufacture and fabricate things, just for their agendas. If they are lying on Domestic issues, then they will lie on Foreign issues concerning Life and Death. The U.S. does not need people like this deciding important issues for this Country. I don't think George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are the total blame for getting this country into an illegal War and lying on important issues. They had a Congress that helped them. It is going to happen again concerning Syria and Iran. President Obama needs to reassess what he is doing and the people pushing this country towards another War. He shouldn't be compromising with these people because they are too corrupt. If I had the power he has, and dealing with corrupt people like this, they would be ran out of office or in jail. If I had credible evidence they were breaking the laws, I wouldn't mind investigating them.

There are issues, that he is letting the Republicans off on, because he thinks it is for the good of the country. It is not for the good of the country to keep corrupt people in office. One example would be to go ahead and investigate the Bush Administration on Torture and lying about WMD. Another issue would be about voter suppression and rigging elections. It is all in the DOJ's purvue. Another would be about tax evasion and offshore accounts. I;I've also heard they gave Sheldon Adelson a pass on some issue when he could have been prosecuted. The DOJ could go ahead and prosecute the Banks. If they did so, the Republican Party and their benefactors would be hurting, instead of them trying to bring down the Obama Administration. They wouldn't have the upperhand if the Administration was more aggressive and vigilant, because the Republican Party would be too busy defending themselves in Court.

[Thor_MN]

40. The problem with a criminal conducting an investigation is they see crime everywhere,

because they expect everyone to do what they themselves would do in the same situation.

[BlueStater]

41. What a dickweed.

I guess the reason this douche keeps getting elected in California is the same reason Michelle Bachmann kept getting elected in Minnesota. He represents the most insane portion of the state, evidently.

[kelliekat44]

44. UH. yes. That is where the IRS headquaters is located. nt

[Arkana]

47. It's puzzling to me why Darrell Issa thinks the IRS is the Illuminati.