The IRS Controversy:  “I will not tolerate it.”

“I’ve got no patience for it,” he said. “I will not tolerate it.”

That was the response of President Barack Obama, who says he learned that Internal Revenue Service employees targeted conservative groups for audits from news reports last week. Mr. Obama called the charges “outrageous,” if true, and said that anyone found to be guilty of such actions should be held accountable.

The president’s blunt condemnation of the IRS appeared designed to head off fallout from the scandal, as Republicans — and some Democrats — called for hearings and investigations into the matter.

The IRS apologized this week for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting of conservative and other political groups during the 2012 election to see whether they were violating their tax-exempt status. In some cases, the IRS acknowledged, agents inappropriately asked for lists of donors, emails, and other information.

The Internal Revenue Service says acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller was first informed in May 2012 that Tea Party groups were inappropriately targeted for scrutiny. A month later he wrote a member of Congress to explain the process of reviewing applications for tax-exempt status without mentioning the controversy.

Over the past year, numerous lawmakers raised concerns with the IRS about complaints that Tea Party groups were being harassed. Each time the agency responded without mentioning that groups had been targeted.

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Sources: The Washington Post/ABC News