WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service apologized Friday for what it said were mistakes in targeting tea-party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny during the 2012 election campaign, but said its actions weren't politically motivated.
"We made some mistakes," Lois Lerner, head of the IRS tax-exempt organizations division, told reporters. "Some people didn't use good judgment....For that we're apologetic."
The IRS added in a statement that the errors "were in no way due to any political or partisan rationale." Agency officials said the improper actions were taken by career civil servants, not by political appointees.
The announcement didn't mollify many in the tea-party movement or Republicans on Capitol Hill. The IRS last year denied that any political groups were targeted.
"Today's acknowledgment by the Obama administration that the IRS did in fact target conservative groups in the heat of last year's national election is not enough," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "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."
More: http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/a/SB10001424127887323744604578474983310370360?mg=reno64-wsj
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