Former I.R.S. Commissioner Douglas Shulman visited the White House 157 times during his tenure; his predecessor visited once in four years. Frankly, I think normal protocol would have Shulman interacting through his boss, Tim Geithner, who visited only 50 times during the same period. This seems to suggest to me that Shulman was providing the White House names of new organizations applying for tax-exempt status and the White House was telling Shulman which ones to stall or deny; it also suggests to me he was probably being given names of individuals, businesses and organizations that the White House wanted to target for audits. I think the personal visits signal that they didn't want to do this by email, memo or telephone, for obvious reasons.
Of course, the White House is flatly denying any involvement. Both the White House and the I.R.S. are insisting their activity ended last year when Shulman was asked about the possibility in a Congressional hearing; nevertheless, new people and organizations are coming out almost every day with I.R.S. letters dated as recently as last week which indicate the targeting continues, unabated.
The plot thickens, hour by hour.
That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.
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