As the IRS targeting scandal continues to make headlines, animal-protection charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, claims that conservative groups are not the only ones that have faced increased scrutiny from the agency.
In a letter sent to the Treasury Department on Thursday, PETA requested that a recently announced criminal probe into the IRS' activity be expanded to include an analysis of three audits that targeted the group's tax-exempt status.
PETA claims it faced three "baseless" audits in 1990 to 1992 under the George H.W. Bush administration, in 2003 to 2005 under the George W. Bush administration, and again in 2009.
"I can assure you that targeted misconduct by the IRS is neither new nor limited to conservative causes," wrote Jeffrey Kerr, PETA's General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs.
Kerr said IRS agents admitted that the audits were politically motivated and the result of pressure by members of Congress who were doing the bidding of industries PETA opposes such as the meat, dairy, experimentation, and tobacco industries.
"PETA came through all three audits with a clean bill of health but endured an unconscionable diversion of charity resources to fend off these attacks on its tax-exempt status, which were reminiscent of the Nixon years and tactics more commonly attributed to totalitarian regimes," he added.
The claims from PETA come after an inspector general report confirmed that IRS personnel improperly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
The report led to the resignation of acting IRS commission Steven Miller, who faced several hours of intense grilling from lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Friday.
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