Rep. Elijah Cummings Releases Full IRS Transcripts That Debunk Targeting Theories

The release of the full transcripts debunks conspiracy theories about IRS targeting.

The Cincinnati manager in the transcript revealed Tuesday is a self-described “conservative Republican” who told congressional investigators that he asked Washington IRS officials for guidance on a tea party case on Feb. 25, 2010, the same date listed in an inspector general’s report as the genesis of the IRS’s targeting efforts.

The Cincinnati supervisor also confirmed that an IRS screener from his office developed the controversial search criteria that the agency used to identify groups for extra scrutiny.

“These facts are a far cry from accusations of a conspiracy orchestrated by the White House to target the president’s political enemies,” Cummings said in a letter to Issa on Tuesday.

Cummings acknowledged in his letter on Tuesday that Washington — but not the White House — was partially responsible for the IRS controversy. “I am not suggesting that IRS employees in Washington, D.C. played no role in these activities,” he said.

Cummings noted that Lois Lerner, one of the Washington-based IRS officials who oversaw the agency’s tax-exemption division, knew about the inappropriate search criteria in 2011. He also acknowledged that other IRS officials in the capital coordinated with Cincinnati in the application-review process, part of which involved improper questioning, according to the inspector general.

Cummings is pictured with Rep. Darrell Issa.

By: MR. RIGHT