Breitbart: IRS Stonewells Cruz Investigation; Cruz Threatens Subpoena Come January
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is ripping the Internal Revenue Service after the agency sent him a one-page, pro forma response to a series of questions prompted by its audit of Breitbart News Network.
In the Sept. 25 letter, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the IRS could not answer some of Cruz's questions - including how many other news organizations had been audited under President Obama and whether the agency had communicated with White House officials about auditing Breitbart - because of taxpayer confidentiality rules.
"As you may be aware, section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code limits our ability to disclose confidential taxpayer information, including information bout whether a taxpayer has been audited, absent express authorization from the taxpayer," Koskinen wrote.
Koskinen, who has been grilled by Congress in recent months over the agency's targeting of conservative groups that were seeking nonprofit status, went on to say that in the "radio and television broadcasting, subscription programming, news syndication, and information services field," the IRS has conducted 1200 audits since 2011.
