White House Says Obama Kept Out of Loop on IRS Inquiry

Ranking White House officials were notified in late April about an inquiry into Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of conservative organizations but elected not to inform President Obama, The Washington Post and The New York Times report.

White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler learned of the audit and of IRS staffers’ use of terms like “Tea Party” and “patriot” to flag applications for 501(c)(4) nonprofit status, on April 24 and notified senior presidential aides, including chief of staff Denis McDonough, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday.

Ms. Ruemmler determined that “it was not necessary or appropriate to inform the president” because the review was still ongoing, Mr. Carney said. “And most importantly, no action was taken by anyone in this building to intervene.”

The Senate Finance Committee, which will open its hearings on the IRS scandal Tuesday, signaled an intent to broaden the inquiry beyond the screening of advocacy groups, demanding that the tax agency turn over a list of all charities, social-welfare organizations, unions, and trade associations targeted for extra scrutiny since Feb. 1, 2010, according to the Los Angeles Times.