While the White House isn’t sure whether or not the Internal Revenue Service actually targeted conservative groups, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is condemning the agency’s conduct and calling for an investigation.
The Kentucky Republican introduced a Senate resolution on Tuesday asking for the termination of individuals involved in the targeting of Tea Party groups.
The resolution calls for an independent group “to investigate and, if applicable, seek criminal charges against any individuals who authorized or were involved in targeting people of the United States based on their political views; and to determine if other entities in the administration of President Obama were involved in or were aware of the discrimination and did not take action to stop the actions of the Internal Revenue Service.”
Paul also appeared on Fox‘s “Hannity“ on Monday night to explain his new resolution. The Senator was especially critical of the President’s possible involvement in the IRS scandal, saying the POTUS had promised to take action if people in the IRS were found guilty. Paul noted the President hadn’t fired anyone involved in the Benghazi scandal, but instead uses “faux outrage” to avoid confronting issues.
“President Obama should terminate the individuals responsible for targeting and willfully discriminating against Tea Party groups and other conservative groups,” the new resolution states.
Paul himself is a member of the Tea Party and said last week that he was “offended” the actions of the IRS.
“I’m offended when any kind of government entity targets people for their political or religious beliefs,” Paul said at an Iowa GOP fundraiser, “so it’s, you know, particularly offensive, since I’m one of the groups they were targeting. They didn’t audit me personally, but, you know, government should never be used to bully people.”
