Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Tuesday asking them to halt issuing or enforcing regulations drafted under Laura Hall Ingraham’s supervision at the IRS Obamacare office, according to a press release.
Hall Ingram is the former commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations from 2009 to 2012 when conservative organizations were apparently targeted for heightened scrutiny. Hall Ingraham is currently serving as head of the IRS Obamacare office.
Thune wrote:
I am extremely troubled over the fact that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeted specific groups applying for tax-exempt status, appears to have delayed processing of targeted groups' applications, and requested unnecessary information from targeted groups including donor lists. Further, it has come to light that Ms. Sarah Hall Ingram, the former commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012, has inexplicably been promoted to oversee the IRS' Affordable Care Act office. [...]
Given Ms. Hall Ingram's position as commissioner of the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division when the targeting of certain groups began, please confirm whether Ms. Hall Ingram is a subject of the Department of Justice's investigation into whether IRS employees broke criminal laws by singling out conservative groups for special review and inappropriate questions.
Additionally, until there are sufficient answers as to her involvement, I request that the IRS refrain from issuing or enforcing any regulations that have been drafted under the supervision of Ms. Hall Ingram in her current capacity as director of the IRS's Affordable Care Act office, which is responsible for implementing the health care law. The IRS should also immediately cease work on additional Affordable Care Act regulations until the Department of Justice confirms that Ms. Hall Ingram is not a subject of the criminal investigation, Ms. Hall Ingram is removed from this office, or Ms. Hall Ingram is exonerated by an investigation by the Department of Justice.