Fear And Cover-Ups in the IRS

A congressional probe finds a near epidemic of misconduct

"Now, let me say to you, you're not dealing with ignoramuses on this committee. The IRS world that you describe . . . it's like the land of Oz, and you are the wizards." Georgia Democrat Doug Barnard Jr. delivered that blistering rebuke last week to Michael Murphy, deputy commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. What provoked Barnard was Murphy's upbeat assessment of his agency's zeal for rooting out cases of misconduct among its own employees. But dozens of current and former IRS workers painted a different and disturbing picture of the agency in three days of testimony before the House...

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