And that whole truth is that what happened was a partisan attack on behalf of a sitting president against his political opponents. It was not just a mistake, or mismanagement, or any of the other lame excuses being cast about to distract from the partisan nature.

◼ IRS head uses the “P” word — and thereby eviscerates the claim this is not a political scandal - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

◼ IRS Commissioner Contradicts Earlier Testimony, Says Tea Party-Targeting Was Partisan - Huffington Post

Miller had said in his opening statement to the Senate Finance Committee that the targeting was "not an act of partisanship." The question of whether the IRS personnel who targeted tea party groups acted in a partisan way has implications for whether they broke laws such as the Hatch Act, which forbids government employees from engaging in partisan political activity.