Obama Announces The Resignation Of The IRS Commissioner
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he was "angry" at IRS officials who inappropriately targeted conservative groups for scrutiny, announcing that his administration had sought and accepted Steven Miller resignation as interim commissioner of the IRS.
"I've reviewed the Treasury Department watchdog's report, and the misconduct that it uncovered was inexcusable," Obama said in a statement at the White House. "It's inexcusable, and Americans are right to be angry about it, and I'm angry about it."
Saying he won't tolerate this sort of behavior from an agency, especially the IRS, President Obama announces the resignation of the acting IRS commissioner, and the implementation of new measures to prevent such activity again.
The president said that he expected the IRS to act with even higher levels of integrity than other government agencies and, to that end, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew had sought and accepted Miller's resignation -- something which many Republicans had demanded.
Obama also pledged to work with Congress in its emerging investigation into the IRS controversy, pledging his administration would work "hand-in-hand with Congress" to further its oversight. But the president also cautioned lawmakers to conduct its probe "in a way that doesn't smack of politics or partisan agendas."
The president said as well that he thought the problems at the IRS were "fixable," and he directed Lew to implement the IRS inspector general's recommendations.
Obama's remarks came amid news that two IRS employees who had engaged in activities targeting conservative groups had faced disciplinary action for their conduct.
An IRS inspector general's released on Monday found that incompetence and ineffective management at the tax-collecting agency led to employees applying extra scrutiny to conservative and Tea Party advocacy groups. The report also found there was no evidence of outside pressure on officials to target conservative groups.
President Barack Obama makes a statement on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday May 15, 2013.
Still, the revelation has prompted a major uproar among Republicans, who have openly suggested that the Obama administration might have used the IRS to target its political opponents.
"My question isn't about who's going to resign," Boehner said at a weekly press conference on Capitol Hill. "My question is who's going to jail in this scandal?"
Democrats have largely joined their Republican colleagues in expressing outrage toward the IRS employees' actions, and Obama himself condemned the agency on Monday, calling the targeting of conservative groups "outrageous," and vowing to hold those responsible accountable.
"I'll do everything in my power to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again, by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and, going forward, my making sure the law is applied as it should be -- in a fair and impartial way," Obama said.
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