A government watchdog group wants a key person at the Internal Revenue Service who was involved in the Obama-era scandal of the agency targeting political opponents to be fired after learning of her new position.
Former IRS Commissioner Lois Lerner’s top deputy, Holly Paz, was promoted by the administration of former President Joe Biden and is now in charge of a key division in the agency, The Daily Caller reported.
She is listed on the IRS website as the commissioner of the agency’s Large Business and International Division.
Paz was reportedly involved in what became known as the “Tea Party” scandal around the time of then-President Obama’s reelection in 2012, where conservative groups who wanted tax-exempt status so they could stump for Republicans were subjected to approval delays and additional scrutiny that was not applied to progressive groups seeking the same status.
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF), a conservative government watchdog group, is demanding that she be removed because of her connections to that scandal, according to a letter sent Thursday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and obtained by the Daily Caller.
The group “has launched an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for issues pertaining to partisanship and its continued targeting of conservatives,” the letter said.
“Our first finding of this investigation is that the former top deputy to Louis Lerner — Holly Paz — regained a high-ranking position within the IRS during the Biden Administration. Paz was placed on leave and ousted from her role at the IRS in 2013 amid allegations she targeted conservative organizations seeking tax-exempt status,” it said.
“With allegations that the IRS maintains political bias and is still targeting conservatives, Paz cannot be allowed to maintain a role in the IRS,” the letter said.`
