The original IG report wasn't a comprehensive report on how groups were targeted. It specifically was an audit of how groups with "tea party" or "patriot" in their names were targeted. There were similar left-leaning "BOLO"s (such as "Occupy") that were not included in the review of the IG Report.
"But top congressional Democrats have wielded new information from the IRS this week that liberal groups were also flagged for extra attention on the sorts of “be on the lookout” lists (BOLOs) that also tripped up conservative groups.
The spokesman for the Treasury inspector general noted their audit acknowledged there were other watch lists. But the spokesman added: "We did not review the use, disposition, purpose or content of the other BOLOs. That was outside the scope of our audit.”
The admission from the inspector general comes as Democrats have sharpened their criticism of George, with Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) dubbing the audit fundamentally flawed on Monday."
IG: Audit of IRS actions limited to Tea Party groups at GOP request
"A federal watchdog has identified as many as 146 cases in which the Internal Revenue Service may have targeted liberal-leaning groups for extra scrutiny based on their names or political leanings, a finding that could undermine claims that conservatives were unfairly targeted under President Barack Obama.
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The new TIGTA report examines a broader range of criteria used by the IRS at the time, including groups affiliated with the now-defunct Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, as well as others referencing "Progressive," "Green Energy," "Medical Marijuana" and "Occupy."
Together, the watchdog identified 146 cases in which the IRS examined left-leaning groups for suspicion of engaging in disallowed political activity. Eighty-three of those were definitively chosen for scrutiny because of the selection criteria, the inspector general found; the report could not definitively determine how the other cases were chosen.
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For instance, IRS personnel were told starting in 2010 to watch out for groups that had affiliations with ACORN, a national network of community-based organizations that had collapsed amid allegations of wrongdoing by conservative activists. Ultimately, at least 13 applications for tax exemptions were flagged for scrutiny based on possible ACORN ties, and most of those groups waited over a year for their cases to be resolved, the report said - mirroring many of the allegations leveled regarding conservative groups.
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Other entities have examined the IRS's handling of nonprofit groups at the time and concluded that conservatives were affected disproportionately. The Senate Finance Committee, for instance, concluded in 2015 that most of the groups whose applications were given extra scrutiny were "Tea Party and conservative groups" but also acknowledged that some left-leaning groups "experienced lengthy processing delays and inappropriate and burdensome requests for information.""
IRS unfairly targeted liberal groups, too, Treasury Department watchdog finds
Even the GOP-led Senate Finance Committee report acknowledged that the IRS targeting wasn't limited to conservative groups, but the right wing media has blatantly disregarded that information time and again.
You're free to discount additional information that came to light after the initial IG report, but that would be selective analysis. Both left-leaning and right-leaning news organizations selectively highlight and omit information to construct a narrative, and The Washington Examiner is definitely an outlet which puts narrative first.
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