IRS Abuse Directed By Washington After All

"New documents obtained by Judicial Watch demonstrate conclusively that the IRS policy of targeting tea party and conservative groups came directly from Washington D.C., not a rogue office in Cincinnati," writes Paul Mirengoff at powerlineblog.com. "They also show that Sen. Carl Levin was working with the IRS to make sure tea party and conservative groups were targeted for harassment."

As to the first point, a July 2012 email from IRS Attorney Steven Grodnitzky confirms that tea party group applications for exempt status were being handled in Washington. Grodnitzky wrote:

[We are] working the Tea party applications in coordination with Cincy. We are developing a few applications here in DC and providing copies of our development letters with the agent to use as examples in the development of their cases.

Chip Hull [another lawyer in IRS headquarters] is working these cases. . .and working with the agent in Cincy, so any communication should include him as well. Because the Tea party applications are the subject of an SCR [Sensitive Case Report], we cannot resolve any of the cases without coordinating with Rob.

“Rob” is believed to be Rob Choi, then-Director of Rulings and Agreements in IRS’s Washington, DC, headquarters.

On Fox New's Special Report, Charles Krauthammer said the emails reveal "a major abuse of power" and "gives lie to the Administration claim that it had nothing to do with the election, nothing to do with targeting the opponents of the Administration."



For a timeline of key dates and revelations on the IRS scandal, see Pepperdine law professor Paul L. Caron's article in USA Today.

See also: 
NEW: IRS office in D.C. Heavily Involved in Tea Party Assault (Washington Times)
Documents Reveal Lies on IRS Scandal (American Thinker)