Benghazi, AP, and the IRS

The Republican Party is having a field day with a series of government mishaps involving the Obama White House, which could prove damaging to the administration and the president’s agenda.

The GOP had already been stirring the pot on the Benghazi attacks, blaming the administration for a purposeful cover-up, then sending U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice out on Sunday talk shows with talking points the GOP claimed to be untrue.  Now, a new set of “scandals” have fallen neatly into the lap of Republicans, which has the Obama administration scrambling for an explanation.

Yesterday, the IRS admitted it singled out various members of the GOP and The Tea Party with targeted investigations, which has conservatives seething.

A special government unit was discovered to have gone beyond usual protocol, by singling out small conservative groups for using the words “Tea Party” and “patriot,” when they applied for tax-exempt status.  Republicans are calling this a witch-hunt and President Obama has quickly distanced himself from the activities and is calling for an investigation.

“The fact of the matter is what we know about this is of concern,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, making it known the president was unaware of these activities. “We certainly find the actions taken, as reported, to be inappropriate.

The IRS story occurred almost simultaneously with news that federal investigators had seized phone records of several Associated Press reporters, which the wire service is calling “a massive and unprecedented intrusion” on the free press.

The AP revealed Monday the Justice Department secretly acquired 2 months of phone records for 20 office, home and mobile phone lines used by reporters and editors within their organization, which has the wire service seething with anger.

In a tersely worded letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said the data could “reveal communications with confidential sources and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know,” which could be damaging to the agency’s credibility with their carefully cultivated sources.

But in response, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington defended the Department of Justice, saying the department was allowed to secretly pull phone records when it involves an ongoing criminal probe.

“We must notify the media organization in advance unless doing so would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation,” the office said. “Because we value the freedom of the press, we are always careful and deliberative in seeking to strike the right balance between the public interest in the free flow of information and the public interest in the fair and effective administration of our criminal laws.”