Congressional hearings over the last two weeks have been filled with stories of misconduct due to incompetence and inexperience among certain IRS employees. Both Republicans and Democrats have leveled the accusations, and Internal Revenue officials testifying before Congress have admitted as much. At the same time, all parties have stressed that the vast majority of IRS employees are hard working, competent, and honest civil servants.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development just announced the sentencing of two former IRS employees “for unemployment insurance fraud.” Seven other former IRS employees have already been convicted and sentenced as a result of the investigation:
INDIANAPOLIS – Over the past week two former United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees have been sentenced for unemployment insurance fraud. Carmen Brown, also known as Carmen Smith, 41, of Indianapolis, and Terri Wardell, 48, of Fishers, both pled guilty to unemployment insurance fraud. The two filed for and received unemployment insurance benefits while working full-time for the IRS. Smith illegally received nearly $14,000 in benefits. Wardell fraudulently collected over $18,000...
“It does not matter who you are or who you work for, we work diligently to make sure those who take funds they are not eligible for, are held accountable”, said Scott B. Sanders, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “These funds are for Hoosiers truly in need and we take our job safeguarding these funds very seriously.”
The IRS detected the original signs of fraud and reported the information to the DWD who then pursued the investigation resulting in these convictions.
Democratic congressman Stephen Lynch says "there will be hell to pay" if IRS doesn't fully cooperate with Congress, and suggests he might support a "special prosecutor":
J. Russell George, the inspector general who uncovered the IRS scandal, appears to have at one time dated Michelle Obama, well before she was married to Barack Obama.
Testifying today on Capitol Hill, Douglas Shulman, the former IRS commissioner, says he "can't say" how the targeting of conservatives by the agency he once led happened:
A senator asks, "If you could just very quickly, in a nutshell, bottom-line: How did this happen?"
"Mr. Chairman," Shulman says, "I can't say that I know that answer."
A reporter confirmed with Jay Carney, today at the press briefing, that President Obama met with his chief of staff and the treasury secretary many times over the last month and that neither official told the president of the IRS scandal:
Everyone in Washington, except those in the crosshairs, likes a good scandal, and THE WEEKLY STANDARD is no exception. What’s more, in the case of the Obama administration, comeuppance is well deserved and overdue. So while it may be a dubious pleasure to enjoy watching the high brought low and the proud en route to their fall, we’re willing to indulge in it.
Everyone in Washington, except those in the crosshairs, likes a good scandal, and THE WEEKLY STANDARD is no exception. What’s more, in the case of the Obama administration, comeuppance is well deserved and overdue. So while it may be a dubious pleasure to enjoy watching the high brought low and the proud en route to their fall, we’re willing to indulge in it.
Since the IRS admitted it improperly targeted conservative and Tea Party groups last Friday, journalists have worked tirelessly to expose the full extent of the growing scandal.
On Twitter this morning, David Axelrod, a former top political adviser to Barack Obama, tried to downplay the significance of the growing Benghazi scandal. "I think this story is BS," he said, arguing that those concerned about the Obama adminstration's handling of the terror attack are really only concerned about a possible Hillary Clinton run for president.
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