U.S. Senator Joe Manchin says President Barack Obama has to be held accountable for the problems within the Internal Revenue Service.
On Friday, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee held the first Congressional hearing on how the IRS targeted conservative groups by using filters to identify Tea Party and similar groups for additional scrutiny.
Sen. Manchin says the IRS scares a lot of people.
“They have the power to do a lot of damage to you and they have the power to harass even innocent people and make it so unbearable, so unaffordable to defend yourself, it’s unbelievable,” the Senator said on Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
“To find out that they have used this (the power) for political targeting, it’s not only unacceptable, it’s criminal and it’s un-American.”
Former Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller was one of the witnesses who testified Friday on Capitol Hill. President Obama dismissed him from that role earlier in the week.
Miller took over last November after the IRS had stopped putting Tea Party groups under increased scrutiny. However, he did deny the use of the practice.
“It’s not acceptable,” Sen. Manchin said.
“I don’t care whether you’re a conservative, the Tea Party organization and because you raised the flag of being patriotic or a Patriot or Tea Party, that you’re supposed to be scrutinized more than someone who comes from a progressive side.”