Emails released Wednesday by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee suggest the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) did not provide the committee with promised interim reports and status updates.
"We would be happy to provide a status update to the Subcommittee staff and provide a copy of our interim and final reports on the matter when they are issued," a July 2012 letter to the committee reads. The letter came in response to Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa's request for an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's then-alleged targeting of conservative groups.
Emails show the committee staff asking if the report would be released in September, to which the TIGTA responded that field work was still going on. A December email asked if there had been any update on the investigation and TIGTA responded that it would be ready by March. A February email similarly received a response that it would be ready in April or May.
On May 10, an email from Oversight to the TIGTA relayed disappointment that the committee had not been briefed despite the information being public and repeated requests being sent.
An email in response reads, "The IRS issued a press statement without our knowledge, consent, or even advanced notice."