Boehner calls out Obama administration's "arrogance of power"

By Stephanie Haven / CBS News/ May 23, 2013, 11:19 AM
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Marred by three contentious issues, the Obama administration has demonstrated their "arrogance of power," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Wednesday.

"I believe that those of us in public office have a responsibility to be humble, to make sure that we represent the will of the people who sent us there, that we're honest with them," Boehner said in an interview with Fox News' Greta van Susteren. "This arrogance of power that we see in this administration - whether it be Benghazi, the IRS scandal, the fact that the Justice Department is going after the news media - raises some very serious questions."

Boehner also said he doubts President Obama didn't know about the IRS targeting scandal until May 10. Boehner compared his constant communication with his senior staff with that of Mr. Obama's exchanges with his aides.

"It's pretty inconceivable to me that the president wouldn't know," Boehner said. "If the White House had known about it, it's hard to imagine it wouldn't have come up in some conversation. They could have attempted to insulate the president from this news."

Inconsistent timelines from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, and IRS official Lois Lerner's refusal to testify in yesterday's House hearing, transpires as if the IRS "has got something to hide here," Boehner said.

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Boehner weighed Congress' investigation responsibilities with those of the Justice Department and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Though he said a special prosecutor isn't necessary in examining the Internal Revenue Service's misconduct, the House of Representatives will "provide oversight" in the Justice Department's criminal investigation.

From these inquiries, and congressional hearings, Boehner reiterated his interest in discovering "who's going to jail" for targeting conservative groups in 501(c)4 status applications. The speaker also said the myriad investigations need to determine who decided the criteria for additional scrutiny and why, as well as how many people were involved.

"Somebody made the decision, it wasn't some low-level employees in Cincinnati," Boehner said.

He explained the House Judiciary Committee will investigate the Justice Department's pursuit of information from the Associated Press and Fox News.

"They better have some big answers," Boehner said.

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