Three IRS staffers to testify about targeting

The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), pressed Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif) on Friday to bring George back, questioning whether the inspector general had withheld key information from Congress. Cummings requested a response from Issa by Monday.

{mosads}Partial transcripts released by Republicans at House Oversight show that Hofacre, who was based in Cincinnati, said that the Washington-based Hull showed unprecedented interest in tax-exempt applications from Tea Party groups. Grodnitzky, Hull’s boss, also got involved, Hofacre said.

Oversight’s Thursday hearing comes as much of the congressional investigation into the IRS has gone behind closed doors, and as Democrats have become increasingly critical of the original report outlining the targeting.

Democrats say that the IRS also took aim at liberal groups, while Republicans insist that groups on the right received the heaviest targeting.