White House Counsel Was Alerted About IRS Review In April

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The White House Counsel’s office was alerted about an impending Treasury Inspector General review of the Internal Revenue Service in April but it was not aware of the specifics of the report, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday.

“My understanding is that the White House Counsel’s Office was alerted in the week of April 22nd of this year, only about the fact that the IG was finishing a review about matters involving the office in Cincinnati,” Carney said aboard Air Force One, according to a pool report. “But that’s all they were informed as a normal sort of heads up. And we have never — we don’t have access to, nor should we, the IG’s report or any draft versions of it.”

The IRS admitted to inappropriately singling out conservative non-profit for additional reviews during the 2012 election last week, prompting bipartisan calls for an investigation into the matter and even the resignation of the agency’s acting commissioner. President Obama on Monday called the alleged conduct “outrageous,” promising to hold officials accountable pending the coming Inspector General report.

“I think this is, as I understand it, a normal kind of notification as the IG was concluding its report,” Carney added. “And in those circumstances, when something like that would become public, there’s a notification and only the White House Counsel’s Office — well, the President was certainly not made aware of it and found about it on Friday, as I did, from news reports.”

The House Committee on Ways and Means will probe the alleged conduct on Friday, May 17, Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) announced today.

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