WASHINGTON, May 22- Three congressional hearings during the past week have allowed lawmakers to vent their anger at the U.S. tax agency for its targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny, but the sessions have yielded few answers about who was responsible.
*Shifting story puts White House under glare. WASHINGTON, May 22- Facing criticism from Democratic loyalists, the White House acknowledged on Wednesday that President Barack Obama's team has struggled to get its story straight on who knew what when about the IRS targeting of conservative groups.
By Kim Dixon and Patrick Temple-West. WASHINGTON, May 22- The Internal Revenue Service official at the center of a scandal about extra tax scrutiny of conservative groups told Congress on Wednesday she had done nothing wrong but invoked her constitutional right not to answer questions.
*Former IRS chief says enforcement "very, very difficult". WASHINGTON, May 21- As they joined Republicans on Tuesday in bashing the Internal Revenue Service for targeting conservative groups that sought tax-exempt status, Senate Democrats had another target: the regulations that require the U.S. tax agency to weigh the political activity of such groups.
WASHINGTON, May 21- Lois Lerner, an Internal Revenue Service official who revealed that the agency was giving extra scrutiny to conservative groups, will assert her constitutional right not to answer questions from a congressional committee on Wednesday, her lawyer said in a letter obtained by Reuters.
WASHINGTON, May 21- Top Internal Revenue Service officials told Congress on Tuesday they were unaware of the agency's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny until recently and did not deliberately mislead lawmakers last year when they did not reveal the practice.
WASHINGTON, May 21- Top Internal Revenue Service officials told Congress on Tuesday they were unaware of the agency's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny until recently and were not deliberately misleading lawmakers last year when they did not reveal the practice.
WASHINGTON- Two senior White House aides knew weeks ago that a probe of the Internal Revenue Service had found that the U.S. tax agency had inappropriately targeted conservative groups, but did not tell President Barack Obama, a White House spokesman said on Monday.
WASHINGTON, May 21- A U.S. Senate panel will try on Tuesday to pry more details out of current and former officials of the Internal Revenue Service about the agency's targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they sought tax-exempt status.
In a letter to leaders of Congress, Lew said the department also would redeem a portion of the investments held by the fund. The suspension goes through Aug. 2 and the Treasury Department expects the move will free up $19 billion in headroom under the debt limit, a separate fact sheet said.
After a Treasury Department report last week confirmed the targeting by the IRS, the tax agency became the focus of a criminal probe by the Justice Department.
*No movement seen in Congress on budget talks. WASHINGTON, May 20- The U.S. government added $306 billion in new debt during a four-month suspension of the federal borrowing limit, the Treasury Department said on Monday, but there was no sign on Capitol Hill of any movement toward a budget compromise.
WASHINGTON, May 20- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled for utility PPL Corp in its dispute with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service over credits the company claimed to offset overseas tax payments.
WASHINGTON, May 20- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled for utility PPL Corp over its dispute with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service concerning credits the company claimed to offset overseas tax payments.
And a spate of scandals, involving the Internal Revenue Service, security for the U.S. mission in Benghazi and the seizure of phone records from the Associated Press news agency, has distracted Congress and the White House. But, he said, "the chances that this Congress does anything useful, which were already low, are even lower."
WASHINGTON, May 17- Incoming acting Internal Revenue Service chief Daniel Werfel has been asked to spearhead a "thorough review" of the scandal-plagued agency and report back to President Barack Obama in 30 days, a Treasury Department official said on Friday.
WASHINGTON, May 17- The outgoing head of the Internal Revenue Service apologized on Friday for "foolish mistakes" made at the U.S. tax agency which he said resulted from a heavy workload, not a partisan mission. Miller was fired on Wednesday as President Barack Obama sought to stem criticism over IRS targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny.