(Video Above: Wetumpka Tea Party leader Becky Gerritson on Neil Cavuto responding to the President’s claim that conservative groups weren’t targeted)
WETUMPKA, Ala. — President Obama appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart for the last time Tuesday to discuss his “senioritis,” and blame Congress for the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups. Alabama’s Becky Gerritson, whose Wetumpka Tea Party was dragged through a lengthy non-profit approval process, said on Fox News’s Your World with Neil Cavuto Wednesday that the President is lying about the scandal.
“The President of the United States of America lied to the public,” Gerritson asserted. “He knows there was a TIGTA report that detailed the targeting. He knows that [former IRS director] Lois Lerner admitted to the targeting and said that it was wrong. He lied to the American people, and we are tired of being lied to.”
Cavuto mentioned the theory that the president is attempting to “run the clock out” on these charges, hoping that no resulting major charges stick during the remainder of his tenure.
“We’re three years into this, and he is trying to run the clock out, but the targeting did happen,” Gerritson responded. “I have an email in my hand that shows that Lois Lerner was colluding with other government agencies like the Department of Justice and the Federal Elections Commission to piece together false statement cases. The targeting definitely happened, and he just can’t deny it.”
The show’s host went on say that the issue was no longer on the top of people’s minds, asking Gerritson if the discussion continues to be relevant during the upcoming presidential election.
“It goes to a bigger issue,” Gerritson responded. “This is just one of many offenses by our government; they are just taking over the people, and we the people need to stand up to them. It’s time, we have to draw a line in the sand because we don’t have another generation, and if we the people don’t stop these guys and get involved it will just get worse. It’s time to put our feet down.
Shortly after Gerritson’s interview Wednesday, watchdog website Judicial Watch announced that documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act confirm the IRS was not only targeting conservative groups, but used the donor lists of those groups to conduct audits on individuals.
Thursday the Government Accountability Office released a report saying the IRS’s auditing process is indeed “ripe for improper targeting.”
According to GAO, “the control deficiencies GAO found increase the risk that EO (Exempt Organizations unit) could select organizations for examination in an unfair manner—for example, based on an organization’s religious, educational, political, or other views.”
“This report exposes a new and more egregious frontier of potential targeting in the agency’s audit selection process,” said Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL6). “If the agency wants to restore public confidence, the American people need to see concrete reforms to ensure that they will never again be targeted.”
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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