When the IRS auditing scandal emerged last year, many were quick to claim that progressive groups had been targeted for audits or had also faced increased scrutiny. However, according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller, the only groups targeted by the IRS specifically for political reasons were conservative in nature.
IRS agents testified before Oversight that ACORN groups were scrutinized because the agency thought they were old organizations applying as new ones. Emerge America was scrutinized for potential “improper private benefit.” No evidence exists that the IRS requested additional information from any Occupy Wall Street group.
“Only seven applications in the IRS backlog contained the word ‘progressive,’ all of which were then approved by the IRS, while Tea Party groups received unprecedented review and experienced years-long delays. While some liberal-oriented groups were singled out for scrutiny, evidence shows it was due to non-political reasons,” according to the Oversight staff report, which was obtained by The Daily Caller.
Is anyone surprised?