Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, said that in retrospect, suggestions that Mr. Obama had orchestrated an I.R.S. attack on his political enemies were unwarranted.
“Presidents have always been very careful about maintaining the appearance of keeping hands off the I.R.S.,” he said. “I don’t have any reason to believe there wasn’t targeting of conservatives, but it might well have been a lot more than that as well.”
Except that no one suggested that the President “orchestrated” anything. We’ve only demanded investigation into the abuse of power. We already know that the IRS’s chief counsel was aware of the persecution. Jay Carney already admitted that Obama’s top advisors were are of the targeting. Why is the Senator running interference here? Why is asking questions about these admissions characterizing as suggesting Obama “orchestrated” it? It sounds like the Senator may be easing off seeking justice for constituents who were unfairly targeted by an entity abusing its powers. I hope not, but this remark doesn’t sound promising.
*UPDATE: A response from Senator Blunt’s camp here.
