Hultgren Calls Obama Administration 'Arrogant' in Wake of IRS Scandal

Congressman Randy Hultgren dished out some harsh words for President Barack Obama following an admission by the Internal Revenue Service that high-ranking officials targeted conservative-leaning groups during the 2012 campaign.

The IRS news comes in the wake of another revelation that the Justice Department obtained telephone records of journalists working for The Associated Press who were working on a story about a failed al-Qaida plot.

“When the Department of Justice is accused of illegally obtaining telephone records to pressure journalists, the EPA is being accused of giving preferential treatment for FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests, and the State Department is actively withholding information and suppressing whistleblowers regarding Benghazi, the American people need answers," Hulgren said in statement issued Wednesday.

"These actions are all emblematic of the growing arrogance and disregard for the law seen by this administration.” 

Back in April 2012, Hultgren joined a number of his colleagues in writing a letter to IRS Commissioner Shulman, requesting more information about how and why certain nonprofit organizations were targeted for unnecessary and burdensome paperwork.

Hultgren said the issue "was ignored by the agency and the press for nearly a year" before the IRS admitted wrongdoing.   

The admission came after internal investigations by the Treasury Department uncovered how the IRS brought improper scrutiny on Tea Party activists.

"As if we needed further evidence of the extreme lengths this president and his administration are willing to go in order to put their political interests above all else, this most recent scandal involving the IRS removes all doubt," Hultgren said.

"Using a taxpayer-funded government entity to target and harass private citizens and groups exercising their First Amendment rights is beyond reprehensible," he said.

Hultgren called on Obama to "clean house at the IRS and hold those responsible accountable for their actions, including the White House officials who knew and allowed it to happen.”

Hultgren added that the actions by the IRS make it extremely difficult for lawmakers to enact comprehensive tax reform.

"We have a tax code that is already too complicated, and the administration is now using it as a weapon to suppress free speech,” Hultgren said.