IRS: Two "rogue" employees targeted the Tea Party

Acting IRS chief Steven Miller reportedly blamed two "overly aggressive" employees for the reviews

Published May 15, 2013 6:47PM (EDT)

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The IRS is reportedly contending that the alleged targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups by the agency was limited to two "rogue" employees, who were "overly aggressive" in their scrutiny of those groups.

CNN reports:

The Internal Revenue Service has identified two "rogue" employees in the agency's Cincinnati office as being principally responsible for "overly aggressive" handling of requests by conservative groups for tax-exempt status, a congressional source told CNN.

In a meeting on Capitol Hill, acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller described the employees as being "off the reservation," according to the source. It was not clear precisely what the alleged behavior involved.

Miller reportedly said in the meeting that the two employees had already been disciplined over the matter.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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