Nooga - Rep. Scott DesJarlais to Participate in IRS Hearing

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By James Harrison

Rep. Scott DesJarlais will participate in another high-profile congressional hearing Wednesday, as witnesses from the IRS will testify before the House Committee on Government and Oversight Reform regarding revelations that the tax agency targeted right-leaning groups.

The hearing comes roughly one week after the congressman participated in an inquiry by the committee on last year's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

The hearing will include testimony from IRS and Treasury officials; including Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, who initially apologized for the agency's treatment of groups; and Douglas Schulman, former commissioner of the IRS.

The hearing will take place at 9:30 a.m. in a House office building and will be streamed live over the Internet.

Prior to the hearing, DesJarlais said the White House was not presenting all the facts to the public.

"By not being forthright and honest with the American people, we have no choice but to assume that the White House is trying to cover something up--perhaps direct involvement of the Oval Office," DesJarlais said in a news release. "Tomorrow's hearing will help to answer many of the questions regarding the extent of the Internal Revenue Service's practice of targeting Americans based on their political beliefs."

Also in attendance at Wednesday's hearing will be Mark West, president of the Chattanooga Tea Party, who was among the groups singled out by the IRS. In recent days, West has met with congressional leaders to relay his group's experience with the tax-collecting agency.

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