The Treasury Department has admitted that confidential tax information of several political candidates and campaign donors were improperly scrutinized by government officials, according to The Washington Times.
In response to questions from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said investigators are probing two allegations that the Internal Revenue Service "targeted for audit candidates for public office," the newspaper reported.
George reportedly told Grassley that a review turned up four cases since 2006 in which government officials took part in "unauthorized access or disclosure of tax records of political donors or candidates." The officials were not identified.
George described one of the disclosures as "willful," while the three other cases were determined to be "inadvertent," according to the report.
Grassley told The Washington Times that he has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to explain why the cases were not prosecuted, adding that the IRS "is required to act with neutrality and professionalism, not political bias."
A Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment from the newspaper Monday. Grassley has given Holder until July 26 to answer his questions.
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