Attorney General Eric Holder said in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee that the criminal investigation of the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS will be nationwide.
The scandal, which is currently being blamed on the Cincinnati office of the IRS, may be national in scope, according to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas). He said he had heard of organizations in at least four cities being targeting by the IRS, calling it “a threat to our democracy and quite possibly a threat to an organization’s First Amendment rights.”
Holder said that, at its early stages, the investigation is based out of Washington. “The facts will take us where they take us,” he said.
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), encouraged the administration to “get out front” on this issue and “let the chips fall where they may.”
“I believe there’s been a pattern in this administation is not taking responsibilites for failures, not taking the blame, pointing fingers,” he said.
