#IRS scandal: I’m sure this is just a (another) coincidence

**Posted by Phineas

I mean, what could possibly be sinister about a meeting between President Obama and the Chief Counsel of the IRS, who’s already been fingered as beingΒ deeply involvedΒ in the political targeting of conservative groups, a mereΒ two days beforeΒ those targeting criteria were changed?

The Obama appointee implicated in congressional testimony in the IRS targeting scandal met with President Obama in the White House two days before offering his colleagues a new set of advice on how to scrutinize tea party and conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.

IRS chief counsel William Wilkins, who was named in House Oversight testimony by retiring IRS agent Carter Hull as one of his supervisors in the improper targeting of conservative groups, met with Obama in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 23, 2012. Wilkins’ boss, then-IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman, visited the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 24, 2012, according to White House visitor logs.

On April 25, 2012, Wilkins’ office sent the exempt organizations determinations unit β€œadditional comments on the draft guidance” for approving or denying tea party tax-exempt applications, according to the IRS inspector general’s report.

Wilkins is just one of two political appointees at IRS. In other words, he’s Obama’s guy.(1) Meanwhile, let’s not forget another curious coincidence: Obama’s meeting with the head of the very anti-Tea Party Treasury employees union just the day before the targeting began.

Sure all these might have individually reasonable explanations, but, when so many flies are buzzing around, there is usually something that stinks drawing them.

Footnote:
(1) Wilkins once defended Obama’s former reverend, Jeremiah Wright, before the IRS when his church was accused of violating its –oh, the irony–Β 501(c)(3) status. And then he gets an appointment from Obama in which he’s deeply involved in the extra-special, super-duper scrutiny of conservative 501(c) groups. Hmmm…

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

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