According to emails released by the House Ways and Means Committee late Wednesday, former head of tax exempt groups at the IRS Lois Lerner wasn't only referring conservative groups for targeting, but Republican Senator Charles Grassley as well.
Lerner mistakenly received an invitation to speak at event that was intended for Grassley, opened it, didn't forward it to the proper recipient (Grassley) and then asked that he be referred for to the IRS for examination (audit).
“We have seen a lot of unbelievable things in this investigation, but the fact that Lois Lerner attempted to initiate an apparently baseless IRS examination against a sitting Republican United States Senator is shocking,” Chairman Dave Camp said in a statement. “At every turn, Lerner was using the IRS as a tool for political purposes in defiance of taxpayer rights. We may never know the full extent of the abuse since the IRS conveniently lost two years of Lerner emails, not to mention those of other key figures in this scandal. The fact that DOJ refuses to investigate the IRS’s abuses or appoint a special counsel demonstrates, yet again, this Administration’s unwillingness to uphold the rule of law.”
An email dated December 4, 2012 from Lois Lerner to Matthew Giuliano shows Lerner questioning what she called possible "inappropriate" offerings from a group to "pay for his [Grassley's] wife." Lerner came to this conclusion after opening mail that didn't belong to her in the first place.
"Perhaps refer him to exam?" Lerner wrote.
In response, IRS official Matthew Giuliano shot down Lerner's idea saying, "Not sure we should send to exam. I think the offer to pay for Grassley's wife is income to Grassley, and not prohibited on its face."
Senator Grassley and his wife gave the House Ways and Means Committee permission to publish this information, which includes private tax information.
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