On Thursday, the House wrapped up its third hearing this week on scandals at the IRS. It has been almost a month since the news of IRS targeting conservatives broke, and there are even more unanswered questions today. Among the more curious is the fact that then-IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman visited the White House more than 150 times. More curious is the revelation that Obama campaign operative Stephanie Cutter attended some of the meetings with Shulman. Cutter should be called to testify under oath about the nature of these meetings.
At the time of the meetings, during the IRS targeting of conservatives, Cutter was a White House in charge of political communications and outreach on ObamaCare. With a resume long on campaigning, she is a political operative. Shulman’s agency was responsible for the technical implementation and enforcement of ObamaCare. The IRS has traditionally been kept far away from an Administration’s political operation.
Shulman ought not to have been involved in the Administration’s political messaging of the health care law. It’s possible he was providing a technical briefing of the law’s implementation, to better inform the White House’s outside communication. Cutter can provide the answers to these questions.
The Tea Party reached its zenith in the opposition to ObamaCare. The IRS targeting of Tea Party organizations began just as this opposition threatened to block enactment of the law. Around this same time, Cutter was put inn charge of political outreach in support of the law. Blunting the organizations opposing the law would not be unwelcome to her. As IRS Commissioner, Shulman would be in a position to delay these groups’ application to increase their advocacy activities.
That is, of course, one hypothesis. The meetings could have also been a general “stakeholders” gathering of absolutely everyone involved in implementation to compare notes. It is imperative that the public understands the nature of these meetings and what was discussed.
This is especially true in light of reports that Shulman was more apparatchnik than technocrat. A Democrat donor, his wife worked for a liberal advocacy group and helped organize Occupy protests. Shulman himself made a campaign-style appearance with embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel not long after the Congressman admitted to tax evasion.
There are so many unknowns surrounding the IRS scandal that future hearings are inevitable. One of the first witnesses called forward should be Stephanie Cutter. Under oath, she should inform the public about her meetings with Shulman. Better still, she ought to come forward herself and disclose everything she knows about these meetings and what specific items were discussed.
Presumably, after all, she has nothing to hide.
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