With the recent IRS scandal, in which certain GOP affiliated groups applying for tax exemption who had telltale names including the words “patriot” or “tea party” were unfairly scrutinized in IRS vetting, Republicans are definitely politicizing the event, suggesting, in effect, that this injustice was inspired by party politics and that perhaps senior officials in the White House may even have known about it. That is why such dates as when the investigating report into the matter was performed and who was then informed are so crucial. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that a senior administration official claimed White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler heard the conclusions of the report in the week of April 22 – weeks before the public learned about it.
Who she then told is another matter. President Barack Obama, for his part, claims he learned of it concurrent with when the public learned of it, on May 10. Questions are being raised whether he should have known sooner.
Who Ruemmler informed about the reports findings is unclear – the White House has not said. When Obama found out he called the conduct of the IRS “outrageous” and was vocal in getting Steven Miller, the acting director of the IRS, removed.
Certain Republicans want to see more done. This Sunday Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) thinks a special counsel may be “necessary” to look into the matter.
Nevertheless, the Obama administration remains adamant, as Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer insists, that this was not political, and that they are ensuring this “never happens again.”
“It’s important to know what we actually knew, which is just that there was an investigation; it was coming to conclusion. Not that we knew the results. We didn’t see the report until it was release last Wednesday,” he said in ABC.
He also asked Republicans not to politicize the event “We are going to work with Congress, as the President said, in legitimate oversight. What we’re not going to participate in is partisan fishing expeditions designed to distract from the real issues at hand.”
Republicans, meanwhile, are pursuing this full force.