WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Victims of IRS targeting were able to tell their stories Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
Tea Party, anti-abortion and other Conservative group leaders testified that the Internal Revenue Service, for years leading up to the presidential election, held up their applications for tax exemptions, persecuted them with personal questions and illegally leaked their donor lists to political opponents.
According to John Eastman of the National Organization for Marriage, "our donors tell us, 'we are fearful of giving money to you, to help support the cause that we believe in, because our businesses and our families are at risk.'"
Some Democrats questioned whether those Conservative groups were engaging in election politics.
But Republicans say the IRS did not scrutinize liberal groups, and now they want to know if the tax agency got its orders from the White House.
Earlier coverage:
New IRS Acting Commissioner Testifies on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON D.C. -- The new acting commissioner of the IRS testified Monday on Capitol Hill, saying his agency should not have targeted Conservative groups and it won't happen again. But what Republicans want to know is if the marching orders came from the White House.
Groups victimized by the tax agency say it's too late for apologies and promises to quit singling them out. Targeted members of groups applied for tax exempt status and instead they got a barrage of questions and new requirements.
This week, more members of targeted groups will give their accounts to members of Congress.
Jeffrey Altman, an attorney representing the group Secure America Now, applied for tax exempt status more than two years ago and is sill waiting.
On Capitol Hill, members of Congress say they are looking for answers from some of these groups about what was asked of them.
"The questions were not the type of questions that you would normally see for the initial review of an application," Altman says. "They were more like a full blown audit."
Tea Party, anti-abortion and other Conservative group leaders testified that the Internal Revenue Service, for years leading up to the presidential election, held up their applications for tax exemptions, persecuted them with personal questions and illegally leaked their donor lists to political opponents.
According to John Eastman of the National Organization for Marriage, "our donors tell us, 'we are fearful of giving money to you, to help support the cause that we believe in, because our businesses and our families are at risk.'"
Some Democrats questioned whether those Conservative groups were engaging in election politics.
But Republicans say the IRS did not scrutinize liberal groups, and now they want to know if the tax agency got its orders from the White House.
Earlier coverage:
New IRS Acting Commissioner Testifies on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON D.C. -- The new acting commissioner of the IRS testified Monday on Capitol Hill, saying his agency should not have targeted Conservative groups and it won't happen again. But what Republicans want to know is if the marching orders came from the White House.
Groups victimized by the tax agency say it's too late for apologies and promises to quit singling them out. Targeted members of groups applied for tax exempt status and instead they got a barrage of questions and new requirements.
This week, more members of targeted groups will give their accounts to members of Congress.
Jeffrey Altman, an attorney representing the group Secure America Now, applied for tax exempt status more than two years ago and is sill waiting.
On Capitol Hill, members of Congress say they are looking for answers from some of these groups about what was asked of them.
"The questions were not the type of questions that you would normally see for the initial review of an application," Altman says. "They were more like a full blown audit."
