AP News - Justice to Investigate IRS Targeting of Tea Party

By Stephen Ohlemacher and Henry C. Jackson, Hosted.AP.org

The Justice Department is investigating the Internal Revenue Service for targeting tea party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax exempt status, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

Holder said the FBI will investigate to see if any laws were broken. He said he ordered the criminal investigation Friday - the day the IRS publicly acknowledged that it had singled out conservative groups. . . .

In some cases, the IRS acknowledged, agents inappropriately asked for lists of donors. The agency blamed low-level employees in a Cincinnati office, saying no high-level officials were aware.

But in letters provided by the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents 27 tea party groups that have sought tax exempt status, IRS officials from two cities in California - El Monte and Laguna Nigel - as well as officials in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati contacted groups seeking extensive information.

The law center's chief counsel, Jay Sekulow, said he was astonished the IRS said activity was limited to Cincinnati. . . .

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