After days of using the term "if," President Obama finally acknowledged the IRS did in fact inappropriately target conservative groups in a statement released last night. IRS official Lois Lerner admitted last Friday that the IRS had specifically singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny.
I have now had the opportunity to review the Treasury Department watchdog’s report on its investigation of IRS personnel who improperly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. And the report’s findings are intolerable and inexcusable. 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. 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.If you notice the first sentance in the second paragraph of Obama's statement, he has passed the responsibility of holding these people accountable off to someone else.
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. But regardless of how this conduct was allowed to take place, the bottom line is, it was wrong. Public service is a solemn privilege. I expect everyone who serves in the federal government to hold themselves to the highest ethical and moral standards. So do the American people. And as President, I intend to make sure our public servants live up to those standards every day.
UPDATE: White House blaming the Treasury Department for IRS scandal?
NBC's David Gregory: Obama Admin Frustrated At Obama Treasury Dept Over IRS
