ON THE HILL

Treasury Knew of IRS Probe in 2012

Inspector general testified during Friday’s congressional hearing.

More fuel for the GOP’s “culture of cover-ups” claims against the Obama administration: senior officials have known about an investigation into improper scrutiny of conservative nonprofit groups by the IRS since June 2012. The Treasury Department’s inspector general, J. Russell George, said as much during a congressional hearing on Friday, testifying that he notified the Treasury’s general counsel of the investigation on June 4, though he didn’t say that the IRS’s targeting had been improper as the investigation was still ongoing. Official findings released Tuesday say ineffective management allowed the practice to go on for more than 18 months before it was stopped in May 2012. President Obama said Thursday that he was completely unaware of the inspector general’s report before it was leaked to the press this week.