Treasury IG: IRS Employees Refused to Say Who Ordered Targeting

IRS employees interviewed during a Treasury inspector general’s audit would not say who ordered them to target conservative groups, the inspector general told members of Congress on Monday.

“We did pose that question, and no one would acknowledge who, if anyone, provided that direction,” Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in response to a question from Representative Tom Graves (R., Ga.). George interviewed employees in the IRS field office in Cincinnati as part of his audit, which found that the agency inappropriately targeted conservative organizations seeking nonprofit status. 

George again emphasized that he conducted an audit, not a full investigation, saying that many details surrounding the IRS scandal are “still to be determined.” Congressional investigators have questioned the manner in which George conducted his interviews with employees. For example, Holly Paz, a senior official in the Cincinnati and Obama donor, was allowed to sit in on many of the interviews.

Danny Werfel, the agency’s new acting commissioner, said he was not satisfied with that (lack of) response, and promised to “uncover every fact.”