The Vanishing I.R.S. Scandal

With Edward Snowden on the lam, the Supreme Court doing its bit to undermine the Great Society, and Don Draper getting his comeuppance, it’s hard to remember last week, let alone last month. But let’s go back to early May, when another great scandal threatened the fabric of the republic. George Will compared it to Watergate. James Taranto, a columnist at the Wall Street Journal, suggested that it might be worse than a cancer on the Presidency.

I’m referring, of course, to the shocking revelation, contained in an investigative report from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration, that some lowly I.R.S. officials in a Cincinnati office that deals with applications for tax-free status from philanthropic organizations used words like “Tea Party” and “Patriots” to screen forms for further review. Republican senators and congressmen accused the Obama Administration of using the I.R.S. to intimidate its opponents. Rush Limbaugh spied a White House coverup. The acting head of the I.R.S., Steven Miller, lost his job. Even Jon Stewart flipped his lid.

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