Last week, Democrats grumbled as Republicans released excerpts from certain interviews done with IRS agents about targeting of Tea Party groups; on Sunday, it was the GOP gritting its teeth as Democrats released their own favorable transcript details, showcasing the maneuvering and the political stakes in this investigation.
"Conservative Republican manager in charge of IRS screeners in Cincinnati denies any White House involvement or political influence in screening Tea Party cases," screamed the headline on a news release issued Sunday by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
The IRS employee, who was not identified by name, is a 21 year veteran of the tax agency; he was interviewed by committee investigators on June 6.
A: I have no reason to believe that.
Q: Do you have any reason to believe that anyone in the White House was involved in the decision to centralize the review of Tea Party cases?
A: I have no reason to believe that.
That was more than enough for Democrats, who last week accused House Oversight Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa of cherry-picking transcript quotes to focus the blame on IRS headquarters and above.
"The transcripts Issa doesn't want to share," bellowed the headline on Democratic leaning web sites, as top Oversight Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) demanded that Issa release "every syllable" of IRS transcripts done by the panel in recent weeks.
You can read a 15 page memo from Democrats on the transcripts here, and their Sunday press release here.
Last Sunday, it was Issa who was floating transcripts of interviews to make the case that the Tea Party targeting case had tentacles that stretched back to IRS headquarters in Washington, D.C. - and according to Issa - maybe beyond.
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A: It's impossible. As an agent we are controlled by many, many people. We have to submit many, many reports. So the chance of two agents being rogue and doing things like that could never happen.
You can see the Republican version of events from their side of the argument here.
So, which one do you believe? Most likely, you will gravitate towards the one that is more closely identified with your political leanings.
Republicans want to believe this most certainly goes back to IRS headquarters in Washington, while Democrats aren't so sure.
That is only human nature when it comes to politics, and anyway, it's totally normal for people to focus more on things that comport with their views, rather than accept something that might go in a different direction.
What do I think?
I would like to see something different from both sides - full transcripts. No excerpts. I want the real thing, published on the internet. Now. Partial transcripts shouldn't be trusted by anyone.
As for hearings, we have had five so far on the IRS targeting scandal, but none are scheduled this week in the Congress, though more interviews are expected behind closed doors.
In the meantime, Republicans will say the scandal reaches up the chain of command in Washington, D.C., while Democrats will say that it doesn't, as both parties maneuver for the IRS high ground.
