Werfel: Inappropriate screening also targeted some liberal groups

washington » The Internal Revenue Service’s screening of groups seeking tax-exempt status was broader and lasted longer than has been previously disclosed, the new head of the agency acknowledged Monday. Terms including “Israel,” “Progressive” and “Occupy” were used by agency workers to help pick groups for closer examination, according to an internal IRS document obtained by The Associated Press.

The IRS has been under fire since last month after admitting it targeted Tea Party and other conservative groups that wanted the tax-exempt designation for tough examinations. While investigators have said that agency screening for those groups had stopped in May 2012, Monday’s revelations made it clear that screening for other kinds of organizations continued until earlier this month, when the agency’s new chief, Danny Werfel, said he discovered it and ordered it halted.

The IRS document said an investigation into why specific terms were included was still underway. It blamed the continued use of inappropriate criteria by screeners on “a lapse in judgment” by the agency’s former top officials.

In a conference call with reporters, Werfel said that after becoming acting IRS chief last month, he discovered varied and improper terms on the lists and said screenerswere still using them. He did not specify what terms were on the lists, but said he suspended the use of all such lists immediately.

“Therewas a wide-ranging set of categories and cases that spanned a broad spectrum” on the lists, Werfel said. He added that his aides found those lists contained “inappropriate criteria that was in use.”

Investigators previously have said the lists evolved as screeners found new names and phrases to help them identify groups to examine.

Democrats on the HouseWays andMeans Committee released one of the lists, dated November 2010. That 16-page document showed that the terms “Progressive” and “Tea Party” were both on that list, aswell as“Medical Marijuana” and “Healthcare legislation.”

Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Ways and Means panel, said he was writing a letter to J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general whose audit in May detailed IRS targeting of conservatives, asking why his report did not mention other groups that were targeted.

Democratic staff on Ways and Means said in a press release they had verified that of the 298 groups seeking tax-exempt status that George’s audit had examined, somewere liberal organizations— something George’s report did not mention.

Werfel’s remarks came as he released an 83page examination he has conducted of his embattled agency. Werfel’s report describes several new procedures, including a fasttrack process for groups seeking tax-exempt status that have yet to get a response fromthe IRS within 120 days of applying.