The Morning Plum: Republicans struggle to connect IRS scandal to Obama
By Greg Sargent, WashPost, Updated: May 23, 2013
Republicans are working overtime to connect the IRS scandal to President Obama. Theoretically, this task should be made more difficult by the lack of evidence of any such connection. In practice, it’s not dissuading Republicans in the slightest from drawing that link. John Boehner claims it is “inconceivable” that Obama didn’t know about the IRS targeting of conservative groups.
In that context, don’t miss today’s big Post piece documenting the behind-the-scenes moves by the Obama administration as it dealt with the news of the impending inspector general’s audit. The piece reports that White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, having learned of the pending audit’s damaging details, shared the news with chief of staff Denis McDonough and other White House aides. They all decided not to tell the president about the audit until it was completed and publicly released, “in part to protect him from even the appearance of trying to influence an investigation.” And it turns out that this is exactly what they should have done:
In the IRS case, many prominent Washington lawyers say Ruemmler made the sensible legal call. She protected her client — Obama — by distancing him from a politically sensitive problem and ensuring that he could not be accused of meddling in an inquiry.
In addition, one senior administration official said, Ruemmler at the time did not know key facts: How extensive was the IRS’s targeting? How many and which employees were involved? Did they target only conservative groups and was the effort politically motivated? And were those groups’ applications for tax-exempt status denied or delayed?
(More here.)
Republicans are working overtime to connect the IRS scandal to President Obama. Theoretically, this task should be made more difficult by the lack of evidence of any such connection. In practice, it’s not dissuading Republicans in the slightest from drawing that link. John Boehner claims it is “inconceivable” that Obama didn’t know about the IRS targeting of conservative groups.
In that context, don’t miss today’s big Post piece documenting the behind-the-scenes moves by the Obama administration as it dealt with the news of the impending inspector general’s audit. The piece reports that White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, having learned of the pending audit’s damaging details, shared the news with chief of staff Denis McDonough and other White House aides. They all decided not to tell the president about the audit until it was completed and publicly released, “in part to protect him from even the appearance of trying to influence an investigation.” And it turns out that this is exactly what they should have done:
In the IRS case, many prominent Washington lawyers say Ruemmler made the sensible legal call. She protected her client — Obama — by distancing him from a politically sensitive problem and ensuring that he could not be accused of meddling in an inquiry.
In addition, one senior administration official said, Ruemmler at the time did not know key facts: How extensive was the IRS’s targeting? How many and which employees were involved? Did they target only conservative groups and was the effort politically motivated? And were those groups’ applications for tax-exempt status denied or delayed?
(More here.)
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