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Under questioning, George confirmed Wednesday that there were apparently other lists of groups to watch for, but he cautioned he could say no more about an ongoing and broadening investigation. George said he couldn’t rule out whether conservative taxpayers also might have been targeted for tax audits or other forms of scrutiny.
“The American people today should not have confidence that this is an isolated incident,” Issa said.
George also said that it was unusual when Lerner pre-emptively revealed the coming inspector general report during a scripted appearance before a group on May 10. George said he knew of no prior case where the IRS released information ahead of an audit. “It was a first during my tenure,” he told lawmakers, adding that a clearance process for releasing information about the audit was underway. “That clearance had not been completed by then.”
Lawmakers were especially tough on Doug Shulman, a Bush administration appointee who stepped down as IRS commissioner in November. Republicans found that Shulman visited the Obama White House 118 times in 2010 and 2011.
Shulman said he was “absolutely sure” he had no conversations at the White House about IRS targeting. He said he was there for a variety of reasons, including discussions about tax administration, the new IRS administrative role under the Affordable Care Act, and even the Easter Egg Roll with his children.
“You started targeting the very groups that came into existence because they opposed what you were talking about in the White House, 118 different visits there," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, charged, offering no proof other than the timeline. "You started targeting them the very month that the Affordable Care Act became law."
“I operated as a nonpartisan, nonpolitical person trying to implement the laws that were on the books,” Shulman said. “It would have been inappropriate, and nobody ever asked me.”
At the White House, Press Secretary Jay Carney acknowledged the criticism of what has been an evolving story about who in the White House knew about the investigation of the IRS and when they knew it.
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