Congressional investigators say they uncovered emails Wednesday showing that a former Internal Revenue Service official at the heart of the tea party investigation sought an audit involving Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa in 2012.
The emails show former IRS official Lois Lerner mistakenly received an invitation to an event that was meant to go to Grassley, a Republican. Grassley presumably received Lerner’s invitation.
The event organizer apparently offered to pay for Grassley’s wife to attend the event. In an email to another IRS official, Lerner suggests referring the matter for an audit, saying it might be inappropriate for the group to pay for his wife.
“Perhaps we should refer to exam?” Lerner wrote.
It was unclear from the emails whether Lerner was suggesting that Grassley or the group be audited — or both.
The other IRS official, Matthew Giuliano, waived her off, saying an audit would be premature because Grassley hadn’t even accepted the invitation.
“It would be Grassley who would need to report the income,” Giuliano said.
The name of the event organizer was blacked out on copies of the emails released by the House Ways and Means Committee because they were considered confidential taxpayer information. Grassley and his wife signed waivers allowing their names to be released.
Grassley didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The IRS says it has lost an untold numbers of Lerner’s emails because her computer crashed in 2011, sparking outrage among Republican lawmakers who have accused the tax agency of a cover-up. The emails released Wednesday were among the thousands that have been turned over to congressional investigators.
Say what??? How the heck did Lerner get on a Republican mailing list?
And who "mistakenly" got my invitation?