In a brief statement delivered to reporters at the East Room of the White House, the president announced that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew had requested -- and accepted -- the resignation of acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller.
The president said the "misconduct" detailed in the IRS Inspector General's report released Tuesday over the singling out of conservative groups is "inexcusable."
"Americans have a right to be angry about, and I'm angry about it," Obama said.
"It should not matter what political stripe you're from. The fact of the matter is, the IRS has to operate with absolute integrity."
According to the report, Miller was aware of the agency's targeting of conservative groups while serving as deputy IRS commissioner in early 2012 and did not tell Congress about it.
Obama pledged to work "hand in hand" with Congress as it investigates, and he vowed new safeguards will be put in place at the IRS so that "this doesn't happen again."
In an internal message to IRS employees obtained by CNN, Miller said he would be stepping down as commissioner in early June.
"This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation's tax agency," Miller wrote.
"I believe the Service will benefit from having a new Acting Commissioner in place during this challenging period."
No comments:
Post a Comment