Top Senate Republican calls for IRS investigation

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell on Friday called for an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service after the federal agency apologized for placing heavier scrutiny on conservative groups than other applicants that applied for tax-exempt status between 2010 and 2012.

"Today, I call on the White House to conduct a transparent, government-wide review aimed at assuring the American people that these thuggish practices are not underway at the IRS or elsewhere in the administration against anyone, regardless of their political views," McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said in a statement.

"But make no mistake, an apology won?t put this issue to rest," he continued. "Now more than ever we need to send a clear message to the Obama Administration that the First Amendment is non-negotiable, and that apologies after an election year are not a sufficient response to what we now know took place at the IRS. This kind of political thuggery has absolutely no place in our politics.?

The IRS announced earlier on Friday that "mistakes were made" when reviewing applications of conservative groups that organized during the rise of the tea party movement between 2010 and 2012. IRS employees centralized its applicant review process in an office in Cincinnati, Ohio, after receiving an influx of requests to form tax-exempt "501(c)4" issue advocacy groups. Auditors intentionally singled out applications that included the words "tea party" or "patriot," the IRS said.

?The IRS recognizes we should have done a better job of handling the influx of advocacy applications,? an IRS statement read. ?Mistakes were made initially, but they were in no way due to any political or partisan rationale.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/top-senate-republican-calls-irs-investigation-175210457.html

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