Politics

IRS official won’t say who is responsible for scandal: ‘I don’t have names for you’

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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WASHINGTON — The outgoing leader of the Internal Revenue Service testified Friday that he could not specifically finger the person responsible for the agency’s targeting of tea party groups.

“I don’t have names for you,” Steve Miller, the acting commissioner of the IRS who resigned this week because of the scandal, said during testimony during a hearing before the House Ways and Means committee.

Miller made the claim after Rep. Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, asked Miller to name the responsible party at least four times.

“Who is responsible for targeting these groups?” Brady asked at one point.

Miller responded that he takes “exception to the concept of targeting, because it’s a loaded word.”

After being pressed by Brady to specifically name the person, Miller told the legislator he is “willing to try to find that out.”

Miller is testifying along with J. Russell George, the treasury inspector general for tax administration, on the revelation that the tax exempt applications for tea party and conservative groups had been intentionally targeted for review.

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