Who else was ok to hear the IRS targeted the tea party?
They are a political organization, they shouldn't have even applied for tax-exempt status anyway. Political organizations can't be tax-exempt.
There was massive press coverage of that controversy, which had weak factual basis.
What is the outlook for the IRS/Lerner scandal?
I doubt that Democrats will be interested in helping "the little guy" who is tired of being harassed by the IRS. The Democrats want to protect the Obama administration specifically and the progressive tax rate generally. "The People" can go get bent as far as they're concerned. The media dutifully complies, ignoring what would be front-page news for months if a Republican were President. I'm looking for Issa and Ryan to start jailing low-level IRS employees connected to the scandal. These employees should then turn over on their bosses, and this cascade should travel up the chain until the kingpins are uncovered. I think we know who they are, but we need testimony. This tactic works very well in Mafia investigations, and there's no bigger and meaner Mafia outfit than the IRS. The best outcome, after prison terms for all IRS and other Administration personnel complicit in the targeting and cover-up, is complete abolition of the IRS. Tax revenue will be raised by instituting a flat tax of 20% on all income, both earned and investment-generated of all individuals and corporations. No loopholes. No deductions. Collection and enforcement will be handled by individual states. I don't want to get into particulars of a new taxation system so much as I just want the bloated and punitive IRS gone.