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Post Published: Apr 21, 2016

About – IRS Targeting Investigation

The IRS Targeting Investigation site was built to centralize information about the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS and make it easier for the public to understand the progress of the investigation.

In February 2012, the Committee’s investigation began after concerns about inappropriate scrutiny of applicants for tax-exempt status by the IRS were brought to the Committee’s attention. The Treasury Inspector General Tax Administration (TIGTA) investigated these concerns, prompted by a request from Chairman Darrell Issa and Subcommittee Chairman Jim Jordan.

The TIGTA audit surfaced information that Americans had been targeted based on expressions of their political beliefs, and the Oversight Committee began an aggressive investigation. Over the past year, the Committee has received over 700,000 pages of documents and conducted transcribed interviews with Treasury and IRS staff. The Committee discovered that the IRS delayed or denied granting tax-exempt status to numerous conservative organizations. The Committee also discovered that this misconduct was not isolated to the IRS’s Cincinnati office, but rose to its national headquarters in Washington, DC.

When subpoenaed to appear before the Oversight Committee, former Director of Tax-Exempt Organizations, Lois Lerner, testified that she had done nothing wrong, making 17 statements in the process. She then invoked the Fifth Amendment, refusing to provide answers to the American people about targeting activities conducted by the IRS and her role in that activity.

The American people deserve to know the facts and demand accountability for the IRS’ actions targeting Americans based on political beliefs.

This ongoing investigation seeks to uncover those facts and will continue to provide updates on the investigation in the interests of transparency and accountability.

Click to go back to the IRS Targeting Investigation homepage