WH: Obama Didn't Ask Why Staff Kept IRS Scandal From Him

Last week, President Obama informed the world that he had heard about the IRS’ targeting of conservatives for the first time from television reports. But apparently that revelation did not lead him to ask his staff why he didn’t know about it beforehand. At Tuesday’s press conference, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that President Obama didn’t bother to ask why he was only learning about the scandal via the media. Carney stated that Obama would not have wanted to be involved in an ongoing investigation – the administration’s usual excuse for remaining out of the loop.

Even though White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler was told about the IRS scandal in April, she did not inform Obama. “The president believes that the counsel’s decision is the right one,” said Carney. It remained unexplained why keeping the President in the dark was the right decision.