Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Carney: White House, Treasury strategized how to tell public
The Hill ^

Posted on 05/21/2013 3:05:22 PM PDT by Sub-Driver

Carney: White House, Treasury strategized how to tell public

By Justin Sink - 05/21/13 02:47 PM ET

Officials in the White House discussed how and when the Internal Revenue Service would tell the public that the agency had targeted political groups, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.

Carney said that Mark Childress, the White House deputy chief of staff, twice spoke with officials at the Treasury Department about the strategy for revealing conservative targeting.

Childress and the Treasury officials discussed the possibility that Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversaw the agency's tax-exempt organization, would reveal that an inspector general's investigation had found misconduct in a speech. They also discussed the possibility that then-acting IRS director Steve Miller could receive questions about the IG investigation in congressional testimony.

According to Carney, the officials discussed “what [Miller] would say” if asked about the issue.

The press secretary went on to characterize the discussion “as just part of trying to find out when and under what circumstances this information would be released, made public, and what those findings would be.”

But Carney insisted that the White House had no knowledge of the agency's eventual plan — to plant a question at an ABA conference for Lerner earlier this month.

“It's a nice hypothetical, but that didn't happen,” Carney said.

Carney said that while multiple senior staff were made aware of the findings of the IG report, the decision by the IRS to plant the question and publicly apologize for the targeting came from outside the White House.

He added that he, like President Obama, was unaware of the targeting before news coverage of Lerner's revelation, and that he did not help formulate a press strategy ahead of the news.

“I was not informed,” Carney said, adding that he rejected the “suggestion that I should have known, or that the president should have known earlier so that I could have said something, or done something.”

“All of these questions suggest that somehow the president should have done something in the midst of an independent [investigation],” Carney added.

Carney also said Tuesday he was "confident" that nobody in the White House was aware of the investigation before April 16, the first time the White House acknowledges officials were notified that an IG report was being prepared.

"I am confident that this is when the first notification came, as part of a series of items that were being included in general heads up about pending matters to a member of the White House Counsel's Office," Carney said.

Republicans on Capitol Hill again accused the White House of shifting their story on who knew about the IRS scandal.

On Monday, Carney revealed for the first time that White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler was originally told that the IRS inspector general was finishing a report about “IRS employees improperly scrutinizing” Tea Party groups. Carney also revealed that Chief of Staff Denis McDonough were informed in April.

“Why are we still learning new information about how the White House was involved in the IRS audit?” tweeted Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 1stamendment; 20130416; aba; childress; clueless; coverup; discrimination; igreport; irs; irsscandal; jaycarney; kathyruemmler; markchildress; playingdumb; politicalpersecution; ruemmler; stevemiller; treasury; uninformed
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-29 last
To: Sub-Driver

What Miller would say?!? Hahahahahaha! How long did it take the admin to come up with “Uh, I dunno, no, I dunno, well, I dunno.”


21 posted on 05/21/2013 5:21:33 PM PDT by bgill (The problem is...no one is watching the Watch List!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS!! McDonough is a master at it.

Per wiki; "Strategic communication management could be defined as the systematic planning and realization of information flow, communication, media development and image care in a long-term horizon. It conveys deliberate message(s) through the most suitable media to the designated audience(s) at the appropriate time to contribute to and achieve the desired long-term effect. Communication management is process creation. It has to bring three factors into balance: the message(s), the media channel(s) and the audience(s)."

22 posted on 05/21/2013 7:52:09 PM PDT by Roccus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

Thanks Sub-Driver. [singing] the wheels on the bus go round and round...
23 posted on 05/21/2013 8:16:30 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

It took three years to get Nixon... so many lies to uncover - just like with this Administration.


24 posted on 05/21/2013 8:32:34 PM PDT by GOPJ (It's Gotten So Bad for Obama Fox News Changed Its Slogan to "See. I Told You So!"- Leno)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RightFighter

Executive privilege coming in 3....2....1


25 posted on 05/22/2013 1:45:54 AM PDT by esoxmagnum (The rats have been trained to pull the D voting lever to get their little food pellet)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: glock rocks

There is an exclusion in RICO that strictly excludes those who work for the government, from the smallest town municipality to the the federal government.

Or at least I have been told by my own (very prominent and TEA party friendly) counsel.


26 posted on 05/22/2013 1:47:50 AM PDT by esoxmagnum (The rats have been trained to pull the D voting lever to get their little food pellet)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: RightFighter

Officials in the White House discussed how and when the Internal Revenue Service would tell the public that the agency had targeted political groups, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.

How about AFTER then election!


27 posted on 05/22/2013 7:00:18 AM PDT by Cyclone59 (Obama is like Ron Burgundy - he will read ANYTHING that is on the teleprompter)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver
According to Carney, the officials discussed “what [Miller] would say” if asked about the issue.

Sounds like a conspiracy to coordinate testimony....if not an even greater crime like suborning perjury?

28 posted on 05/22/2013 8:15:54 AM PDT by Rapscallion (In Benghazi they died; Obama, Clinton and Rice lied. God may forgive. I do not.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver
So now Obastard has developed a "modified limited hang out?
29 posted on 05/22/2013 9:19:59 AM PDT by Cyber Liberty (I am a dissident. Will you join me? My name is John....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-29 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson