Report: IRS flagged groups that 'criticize how the country is being run'

Brett T. | 5:57 PM on May 14, 2013

It’s not hard to believe the IRS’ “apology” last Friday for targeting Tea Party groups was timed to soften the blow of the inspector general’s report on the agency, which was due to be released this week but has already leaked to several news organizations, including ABC News. A quick review of the report confirms everything that’s been reported already, including that fact that the words “Tea Party,” “patriot” and “9/12 project” were enough to have an application sent to a “designated team of specialists to be worked.”

That’s not all, though. As Twitchy reported, other criteria triggering that special review included references to educating the public on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and it doesn’t stop there. Other triggers included “education of the public via advocacy/lobbying to ‘make America a better place to live'” and “statements in the case file [that] criticize how the country is being run.” More than 100 applications were flagged by the time these criteria were established.

The inspector general’s report also includes a response from the IRS. The agency’s take? The problems arose due to insufficient management oversight and they’ve since been taken care of.

from #irs IG report: 1/3 applications given extra scrutiny "included Tea Party, Patriots, or 9/12 in their names" #cnn

— John King (@JohnKingCNN) May 14, 2013

IG report says #IRS rank-and-file thought boss's criteria not specific enough; used "tea party," they say, as shorthand for all pol activity

— David Grant (@DW_Grant) May 14, 2013

IG report: Among the criteria for potential political cases was a "statement in the case file criticize how the country is being run"

— Charlie Mahtesian (@PoliticoCharlie) May 14, 2013

IRS IG report is essentially a contention that the Cincy office went rogue, both in crafting Tea Party terms & in reinstituting them 1/12

— Jon Ward (@jonward11) May 14, 2013