With news of the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups continuing to make headlines, President Barack Obama vowed to hold those responsible accountable.
Responding to an inspector general report confirming that IRS personnel improperly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status, Obama released a statement Tuesday calling the report's findings "intolerable and inexcusable."
Last Friday, reports indicated that the IRS had apologized to some conservative groups for singling out their applications for tax-exempt status for additional review based on the inclusion of words such as "Tea Party" or "patriot."
"The federal government must conduct itself in a way that's worthy of the public's trust, and that's especially true for the IRS," Obama said. "The IRS must apply the law in a fair and impartial way, and its employees must act with utmost integrity. This report shows that some of its employees failed that test."
He added, "I've directed Secretary Lew to hold those responsible for these failures accountable, and to make sure that each of the Inspector General's recommendations are implemented quickly, so that such conduct never happens again."
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said he strongly agrees with the president about the need for accountability at the IRS, noting that he was deeply troubled by the findings in the inspector general's report.
"While the Inspector General found no evidence that any individual or organization outside the IRS influenced the decision to use these criteria, these actions were inappropriate and did not reflect the high standards which I expect and the public deserves," Lew said.
He added, "Like the American people, I have zero tolerance for any action that could undermine public confidence in the impartial and non-partisan administration of the tax code."
Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, went a bit further than just calling for "accountability," suggesting that those involved should serve jail time.
"The IRS admitted to targeting conservatives, even if the White House continues to be stuck on the word 'if.'" Boehner said at a press conference on Wednesday. "My question isn't about who is going to resign. My question is who's going to jail over this scandal?"
"There are laws in place to prevent this type of abuse," he added. "Someone made a conscious decision to harass and to hold up these requests for tax-exempt status. I think we need to know who they are, whether they violated the law. Clearly someone violated the law."
In an op-ed published Tuesday in USA Today, acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller acknowledged that the agency made mistakes in handling a surge in applications for tax-exempt status from advocacy groups but argued that the targeting of certain groups for additional scrutiny was not politically motivated.
"Because the law limits and in some cases prohibits political intervention by exempt organizations, the IRS must carefully review applications based on the facts of each case," Miller wrote.
The IRS chief said the way the agency initially centralized the cases did not make sense, indicating that a shortcut was taken to determine which groups needed additional review.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have called for Miller's resignation due to the revelations.
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