Washington (CNN) – House investigators are interviewing two front-line Internal Revenue Service employees from the Cincinnati tax exempt office this week in Washington, and plan to interview two others next week, two congressional sources familiar with the investigation tell CNN.
House investigators are hoping these IRS employees will shed light on exactly why tea party and other conservative groups were inappropriately targeted for excess scrutiny when applying for tax exempt status.
The sources would not yet disclose the names of the employees, but CNN has previously reported that House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa requested transcribed interviews with four IRS employees from the Cincinnati tax exempt office: John Shafer, Gary Muthert, Elizabeth Hofacre and Joseph Herr.
Investigators from two committees – House Ways and Means and House Oversight – are teaming up to bring these IRS workers to Washington, D.C. for the interviews.
Last week, Issa revealed they had already interviewed a potentially key IRS worker in the Washington, D.C. office – Holly Paz. Paz is a director in the IRS tax exempt division.
During a hearing with IRS Inspector General J. Russell George, Issa said Paz told his aides she was allowed to sit in on meetings with her employees and inspector general investigators. Issa said that raises questions about the true independence and veracity of the inspector general's audit on tea party targeting.