i'm craigel tamron hall. the "news nation" is following developing news. today's heated congressional hearing into the irs scandal has wrapped up after nearly five hours. it is the first of many hearings into the irs. lawmakers heard testimony from ousted acting irs commissioner steve miller and the agency's inspector general, jay russell george. most of the questions accused miller of lying to congress. >> why did you mislead congress and the american people on this? >> mr. chairman, i did not mislead congress or the american people. i answered the questions as they were asked. >> you didn't mention targeting based on ideology. you didn't mention targeting based on words like tea party or patriots or 9/12. you knew that but you didn't mention this to the committee. did you not think that was a very incomplete answer? >> i answered truthfully. i never said i didn't do anything wrong. what i said is contained in the

questions. i resigned because as the acting commissioner, what happens in the irs, whether i was personally involved or not, stops at my desk. i also will tell you. >> let me ask you -- i'm going to mr. george because my time -- you're not going to cooperate with me, mr. miller, and you've been uncooperative during this hearing. >> why did you say you have notes if you don't think you had notes? >> sir, please. please. >> do you have notes or don't you have notes? >> i don't know. >> you should be outraged. but you're not. the american people should be outranged and they are. you talked about your horribly run organization. you're on the other side of the fence, you're not giving that excuse. when the irs comes in, you're not allowed to be shoddy, you're not allowed to be run horribly, you're not allowed to make mistakes. you're not allowed to do one thing that doesn't come in compliance. if you do you're held responsible right then. i think the american people have

seen what's going on right now in their government. this is an overreach and an outrage for all america. i yield back. >> luke russert joins me live now. what we just played there was sort of emblematic. lots of speechifying. not always a lot of questions being asked. >> reporter: it definitely took a partisan turn. when the hearing first started, a lot of us thought it would be bipartisan in nature. a lot of questions that both sides want to get to the bottom of. it kind of started out that way. then the chairman dave camp sort of pressed on tying the irs to the obama white house and this idea of when exactly was it known that the irs was dealing with these conservative groups and targeting them in an improper way. they admitted that it was back in may of 2012 and still told congressional investigators, nothing improper was going on.

listen to the defense that mr. miller put forward in the hearing room today. >> as commissioner, i want to apologize on behalf of the internal revenue service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service i provided. i think what happened here was that foolish mistakes were made by people trying to be more efficient in their workload selection. the listing described in the report while intolerable, was a mistake and not an act of partisanship. >> so there mr. miller claims it was not an act of partisanship. a lot of folks on the republican side disagree that statement saying why the heck were some of these liberal groups not held up the same as the conservative groups were. miller stepped back. he was it through a lot of this, not taking any decisive action. it looked like hey, i'm only here three more weeks. i'm the fall guy. to what point do i really to have put myself out there? what is more disconcerting to folks here, they feel this is

sort of a lack of institutional control within the irs. these things were going on. congress was misled. that upsets folks. when they ask questions, they want to be informed of answers truthfully. in fact, they made him swear in which is uncommon for an irs official to put his testimony under oath. the cliche thing to say, it is very true, a lot of folks here think this is the tip of the iceberg. next week there will be a hearing in front of the senate. mr. shulman who was in charge of all this when it happened, he will testify a lot more. he is expected to come out next week. this will be the center point of washington for at least the next month or so. >> the senate finance committee on tuesday. thanks, buddy. i want to bring in white house correspondent kristen welker. do we know whether the white house watched any of the hearings today? if so, have they responded at all?

>> reporter: well, no official response. we know that they're monitoring the hearings. how closely they won't say specifically. behind the scenes it is clear the administration is still in damage control. they know this irs controversy really of the three prong controversies that the white house has been dealing with all week is potentially the most serious and damaging. this is the one that americans relate to and understand the most. that is why we saw the president kick his response into high gear in the past 48 hours. of course, with the resignation of the acting director. today though, a slightly different strategy. they're trying to turn the page. the president is in baltimore right now focusing on the economy. baltimore is a city that has seen its economy improve over the past several years. the president visiting an elementary school there. talking about his universal pre-k. he visited a manufacturing company as well. that is a tactic he's taking. if you look at polls, most

americans say they still care most about the economy. that's the president's plan. will it actually work? we'll have to wait and see. of course these controversies aren't going anywhere any time soon. the question is will they derail? the larger goal, two of the big ticket items that he was hoping to address in the near future. >> thanks. time for the "news nation" political panel. xm radio talk show host and msnbc contributor michael smerconish. senior reporter at politico, good to see all of you. >> did we learn anything new today? was there a smoking gun? >> well, if you accept the testimony and i think that's a question that is open in many people's minds. we learned a couple of things first and foremost as to motivation. if you believe it. we learned this was not a function of bias.

there was a certain point where mr. miller said they had 70,000 applications and 150 employees who had to, quote/unquote, triage those applications. suggesting that they were just overwhelmed. there wasn't a corresponding increase in resources to deal with all of those applications. and that this was a clumsy, foolish way to go about it but it was not motivated by political, by employees looking for a political axe to grind with conservative groups. secondly what we learned was, the unbelievable path of information that seems to have been passed up the food chain and the congress as this was being unraveled by the irs. >> what you just said, the beginning was something that struck me about the hearings as well. it seems as if the acting head of the irs was conceding some of the workers may have been lazy workers looking for shortcuts but they were not malicious in any way. >> that has been driving this

debate. on its surface. you look at that usa report. it says over a two-year time period there were any number of liberal sounding groups being approved while the tea partyish groups were being put on hold. you say that's awfully nefarious. clearly being driven by a political motivation. today what you heard, there were so many applications coming in. given the politics at the time, they were mostly coming in from the right. this was the way in which the employees sought to deal with being consumed in the process. >> here's the thing. the irs only has two political appointees. it is civil service employees protected for the most part. what is that going to mean for disciplinary action going forward? >> you know, i think that they really, the republicans will need to talk to people down the food chain to really get real story here. the narrative that mr. miller offered today was very convoluted.

he painted a picture of the organization being highly incompetent or a bunch of liars. and neither of those are very good. and i think that they're going to have to go way down to the sivits service level to find out who was making these calls and what were the motives? i don't think we have a clue yet. >> this is what chairman dave camp and ranging member samuel levin said about the hearings and the elections today. take a listen. >> this appears to be just the latest example of a culture of cover-ups and political intimidation in this administration. it seems like the truth is hidden from the american people just long enough to make it through an election. the american people have a right to the truth. >> i totally, totally disagree. if this hearing becomes essentially a bootstrap to continue the campaign of 2012, and to prepare for 2014, we will be making a very, very serious

mistake. >> do we think this is going to continue to lead in to the run up to 2014? >> i think there is that very real possibility. this is an issue. it is so easy to understand the government meddling into these groups and nobody likes the irs. who will step up and defend them? for that reason alone it is so simplistic. that it can linger on. one of the big problems i thought for the irs today, for the administration, is that mr. miller, his tone at this hearing, i wouldn't say it was flippant. >> he really seemed like there were a lot of places other would have preferred to be. >> in that case, almost fitting the stereo type of someone we have for the irs. a little condescending as this was an intrusion that towed answer for this. the best defense co-offer, we were not partisan. there was no wrongdoing. we were just incompetent.

that is not good enough. for all the thousands of people who have gone before the irs, this strikes a chord. it is not enough for this administration to do damage control. no longer. they need to get out in front. >> the irs scandal strikes a lot of folks as the one scandal that will continue to play into that narrative. that government is inept. and government is inefficient. you really can't trust government. this will be the scandal that the gop uses throughout the mid-term elections. no? >> i think that's true for this reason. i look back in history and say watergate was politically effective because we understand it. it was a burglary. god for bid someone should burglarize our home. white water? what was that? that required a lot of studying of the facts and even then you weren't sure. this one we get it. benghazi, you have to read the

100 e-mail if you want to get the rub of it but everybody dislikes the irs, maybe for good reason, having watched this case. this will resonate i think in 2014. i agree with raul. >> i want to play another piece of sound. this might be giving us another preview of the weeks to come. this is the woman accused, sarah ingram, tasked with implementing obamacare. this is about her recent promotion. take a listen. >> why would you promote someone to that position who was in charge of the exempt organization division which certainly has had some controversy over the last couple years? under an investigation? >> because she is a superb civil servant, sir. >> so she had nothing to do with this? >> i wouldn't imagine so. by the way, i can't speak to individual cases. i can say generally we provided horrible customer service here.

i will admit that. >> now, we should note here that sarah ingram's role in implementing obamacare is not going to be a significant one. but does that even matter at this point? >> i think it is a stretch. as we know, the republicans voted to repeal obamacare for the 37th, 38 think time this week. so it is their favorite punching bag. there is this little threat of a link to grab on to. we don't really know what sarah knew or didn't know. but i think the obama administration, the best -- if this turns out just to be inept and inefficient government, that would be the best they could hope for. they can kind of get by and say we had a bad lot of people, putting people in. what is troublesome is what you all are saying. that everyone hates the irs. if this goes deeper, that some of these people were actually partisans even though they were

civil servants, that's where the government will have a lot of problems. >> do you think it ever gets that deep? you indicated a few moments ago that the gop would programs be well advised to try to talk to as many of these low level irs workers as possible. do you think we ever get to the bottom of it? >> i don't know if we'll get to the bottom of it but i would believe they'll bring in some of these people. mr. miller is passing the buck down. he is saying i was informed but it was these hapless people trying to make their workload efficient. so i have to believe that the committees are going to reach into these happenless people. say why don't you come in and tell us if that's what you were really doing. at that point they'll say, tell us a little about yourself. i think there is a lot of shoes to drop in this yet. >> it looks like you want to jump in there. >> he has roped the door by laying this out on these employees. he has opened that door. maybe it is their turn to be

examined. that that, i do think with all of this mess, there is a possible, possible good news for the obama administration. when a president is facing this type of criticism and this scandal mania, who does he need? he needs his base. so maybe on certain issues, he will stop, he will stoppagering his base by trying to be more conciliatory and compromises. maybe this is his chance to shore up the base. >> it could give him an opportunity. >> an opportunity there, yes. and also, a little opportunity on the republican side that we haven't given much notice to. this is an opportunity for many republican lawmakers to denounce the president, to denounce this administration and now, later, when immigration reform comes back to center staining, this will give them some cover that they can support it. >> before we get out of here, i think one of the thing that struck me with the hearings, and i'm sure someone is already working on the snl skit.

the demeanor of the outgoing irs director, it was at times pretty comical. >> hey, craig, you're in 30 rock. why don't you go upstairs and tell them, they don't need to rehearse. just take actual tape and play on it saturday night. >> yeah. it is one thing to be filled with righteous indignation. it is another thing to be filled with righteous indignation and make sure everyone in the room and watching on television knows. michael smerconish, good to see you, sir. thank you to all three of you. i do appreciate your time. we've got some developing news on the growing crisis in syria as well as russia steps up its efforts. reportedly sending advanced weapons and warships. "time" magazine's michael crowley will talk about russia sending to the united states and israel. plus, o.j. simpson's former

lawyer takes the stand to respond to claims that he failed his client during that 2008 trial on kidnapping and robbery. >> i know you're very uncomfortable. >> i'm just, i'm really not comfortable going into that area. >> i understand that. but may we have an answer, please. >> kind of reminds you of the acting -- no. up next, what's up for the former football star if the judge decides he should get a new trial. ica had a rough day. there was this and this. she got a parking ticket... ♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card. it doesn't charge late fees or a penalty rate. ever. as in never ever. now about that parking ticket. [ grunting ] [ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card is the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee, ever. go to citi.com/simplicity to apply.

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[ roars ] ♪ [ roars ] ♪ [ roars ] ♪ [ roars ] ♪ [ male announcer ] universal studios summer of survival. ♪ disturbing new developments concerning the bloody civil war in syria. "the new york times" says they have sent advance cruise missiles to syria illustrating

support for bashar al assad's regime. the journal also reports that the united states and european officials see the move partly as a warning to the west and israel not to intervene. all of this comes just over a week after russia's president, vladimir putin and john kerry agreed to bring the rebels into the bargaining table. perhaps as early as next month. joining me now, "time" magazine, deputy washington bureau chief michael crowley. good to see you sir. >> thank you. >> it would seem to me that this is not just about arming assad's regime. it is also a big middle finger to the united states and its allies, no? >> reporter: it is a blunt way to put it but i think it is pretty accurate. that's the way putin plays the international game, it seems. relations between the united states and russia are pretty bad right now. despite president obama's plan

to reset the relationship when he came into office. they're not in good shape. and you know, in forums like this in america, we talk about syria almost as a problem for america. what is america going to do? what role are we going to have? it is a lot closer to russia than america. and russia feels like there is no reason america should be involved. we should buzz off. russia has close historic ties to syria that we lack and they feel like it is more their issue. their part of the world than ours. for a lot of other reasons, they don't like america medding abroad. they weren't happy about the iraq war. so they're kind of giving us the finger here. >> these missiles, if we are to believe these reports and there is no indication that we should not, if they are providing these missiles, how might that change the game in syria? how might that limit our ability to respond in the future? >> well, the missiles that "the new york times" reported on

today would be anti-ship missiles. there is also concern that russia will send syria anti-aircraft missile that's are part of a prior contract that the two countries have signed. in both cases, it just makes it more difficult for america and allies, presumably european allies in particular, to intervene in a way that would threaten the assad regime. and try to shape the course of events there. so those ship missiles would push our naval vessels farther off the coast. make it harder for us to conduct operations, for instance, cruise missiles would be one option that have been raised in terms of blowing up assad's air force. the ship would be farther back as a result of that. the anti-aircraft missiles would make it very difficult to conduct air strikes. so this is all a way of trying to keep us out. >> "time" magazine's michael crowley, have a great weekend. thank you.

>> thanks for having me. coming up, new information on the texas tornadoes. all the missing are now accounted for as more survivors are telling their stories. >> i just said, all right, lord, if this is it, i'm ready, you know. and apparently it wasn't. >> how about that? we will have more on the clean-up and recovery efforts and a live report from north texas. also the president appoints former congresswoman gabby giffords to a prestigious new position in washington. it is one of the things we thought you should know. ♪ [ female announcer ] from more efficient payments. ♪ to more efficient pick-ups. ♪ wireless is limitless.

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dozens of homes there. many built by the residents themselves with the help of habitat for humanity are now gone. nbc's jay gray is live for us now in granbury with the very latest on the recovery. how are you? >> reporter: hey there, craig. a bad situation here as you talk about this. thft some of the debris that you see scattered across north texas. this is what the families are having to deal with. it is their lives, not just debris. there were people missing immediately after the storm of as many as 14. that was cut down to seven. today officials are telling us everyone has been accounted for. that's the good news but those who are survivors riding through a storm like this. i can't imagine what it was like to see all this flying around. we talked with one of those who rode out the storm. >> it started rocking. i'm on my hands and knees. in the bathtub.

and on the fourth rock, it just up ended and toppled and blew me into the next door neighbor's yard. >> reporter: just a wild ride for so many here. now the recovery really begins in earnest. so they're piling up all the sheet metal. everything they can. they'll begin to haul it away but i think a lot of people are working through their shock and beginning to understand that that is something that won't happen in days or weeks or months in some cases. it will take years. you talked about those habitat homes. there were about 60 in the hardest hit neighborhood. rancho brazos. many of those damaged. some wiped completely away from their slabs. one that they just finished the day before was entirely swept away. habitat has talked to everyone. they're going to rebuild and a lot of people leaning on what they call angels here for a second time.

>> there had to have been angels there. look at that destruction and that damage. it is a wonder that the death toll wasn't higher than six. thank you. still ahead, more on that irs grilling on capitol hill today. >> how can we not conclude that you misled this committee? >> so that was a lot of questions, sir. >> how can we conclude that you did not mislead the committee? >> i stand by my answer then and now. >> let me ask it again. may i answer the questions? >> i'm going to give you some clarity. >> it is just the first of what is expected to be a busy season of hearings on the hill. so did we learn anything new at all today?

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of what has been a tough week for president obama politically as he has dealt with three, count them three raging controversies. >> if in fact irs personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on,ç a were targeting conservative groups, that's outrageous. the whole issue of talking points throughout this process has been a side show. >> to figure this out, the story of benghazi if accurate would mean al qaeda is on the run and they manipulate the evidence to help their political re-election. >> this committee has oversight over your department, correct? >> i didn't show up here because i really wanted to and that has been painfully obvious in some of the ways you've answered some of the questions. >> i don't think i've been treated with a great deal of respect and it's not even a personal thing.

if you don't like me, that's one thing but i am the attorney general of the united states. >> my complete confidence in the attorney general. he's done his job with integrity and i expect he will continue to do so. >> there isn't a weekend that hasn't gone by that someone doesn't say to me, michele, what are you all waiting for in congress? why aren't you impeaching the president? >> how do you feel about the comparison by your critics of this week's scandal as that with nixon? >> i'll let you engage in those comparisons. >> man, what a week! the political editor, domenico, always good to see you. your nbc first read team members report today on the white house now trying to fix the three controversies that they're facing. walk us through what they are trying controversies. >> obviously, they're trying to get out, trying to make this pivot to the next week.

so on benghazi, they released all those e-mails and get them out there. on the associated press investigation, you know, you saw the white house talk about how they would be in favor of some kind of a shield law now. trying to move forward on that. and finally get to the bottom of what happened there. but the irs has much more legs to it. you've already seen a few people out at the irs. there are more people who are under scrutiny for sure. that's going to be a much tougher one and will play into this bigger narrative of whether or not the government works for you and if the president can get the rest of his agenda done. be it the budget, immigration, health care, just how difficult those things will be. >> domenico, it seems as if yesterday, it seemed like the president took his defense of eric holder. it seemed to hit him closer to the heart than some of the other stuff.

why is that? >> well, the thing is, we heard about this this morning in first read. president obama has made sure to stick by eric holder. the thinking in the white house, i think, from the president himself, is that eric holder is something of a proxy. a lot of members of congress have gone after eric çholder. a lot of folks in the white house may think he is an easy target. feel like the president backs him up because they can say things about him they feel like that they're really trying to say about president obama. but they're not willing to say about the president of the united states. >> what's the risk here that the government overplays its hand? >> well, obviously that risk is out there. the thing is, it is one thing to have legitimate questions. there are legitimate questions on benghazi. what happened. the security, the level of security that was there. you know, the irs scandal. it depends on how far you go. is it nixonian?

like the one questioner had asked the report he to the president of the united states. how far do you want to take this? because the further you go with it, and the less likely that sounds reasonable, the less likely people listen to that argument going forward. >> thank you so much. do appreciate it. have a great weekend. >> thank you. one month after a fire triggered that massive explosion at a texas fertilizer plant can i go 15, officials say they are still unable to find a cause. but they still have not ruled out possible criminal activity. we'll talk to the republican congressman who is now asking for federal aid in the wake of the disaster. first though, there is aç whol heck of a lot going on. here are a few of the things we thought you should know. late last night, a bipartisan group of negotiators said they have reached an agreement in principle on immigration reform. the hill reports people familiar with the matter say that the

house's pathway to citizenship would be two years longer than the senate bill. the house lawmakers said they'll meet again next week to put the finishing touches on the legislation. president obama has named gabby giffords to the board of a prestigious scholarship program. the fulbright scholarship provides grants for americans to study abroad. it is sponsored by the state department. giffords herself is an alum of the program after studying in mexico in 1996. the program awards more than 8,000 grants every year. and the first lady delivered a commencement speech today. historically black college presented mrs. obama with an honorary doctorate of law degree. she reiterated a message that the president has made in the past telling african-americans not to be ashame of getting an education. >> please stand up and reject the slander that says a black child with a book is trying to

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it has been a month since the fertilizer explosion left fern people dead and about 200 others injured. but federal investigators say they do not know what caused the fire that triggered those blasts. authorities say they have not ruled out the possibility that it was arson. federal officials also say they're looking into other possible triggers like a fawley electrical system or a golf cart called at the site as well. joining me now, texas congressman bill flores who represents west texas. congressman, it is good to see you. here we are a full month into the investigation by federal, state, and local officials and we still do not know what caused this horrible tragedy. what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, craig, thank

you for inviting me to join you today. what i have heard is what they have ruled out. they're still trying to put the pieces together to determine what they can rule in as being the cause. in terms of acts of god, they ruled out acts of god or natural causes. they've also ruled out certain industrial accident types of triggers that they think that might have caused it. they still have a few options on the table toe to try to run down. what we're talking about the investigators, i want to give a compliment to the investigation team and the quality of work they've done. the diligence they've shown. they have worked together not only çstate, local but federal officials, worked together very well to try to find out what happened here so that we can determine what we need to do in the future to keep it from happening again. >> any idea when we might find more information out about a cause? any time soon? >> no, sir. not yet. one of the things you don't want to do in a situation like this is to rush the results. this was a tragedy and it would

be a tragedy to not know what happened. so i would say let's give these folks time. let them do their work. imvery impressed with what i've seen with their skills and their dogged determination to find out what happened. >> have you asked for federal relief funds for your district? >> no. as a member of congress i'm not authorized to ask for funds but the governor of the state of texas has. and we've served as a facilitator to try to help with that process. >> how are the folks coping? >> so far they're doing very well. after any disaster of this magnitude, there is a phase that you can through after the initial flood of support comes in to help the community. where they have support and thing go the slower than they anticipate and i would ask our country to help with monetary contributions and their prayers. >> texas congressman bill flores who represents west texas. congressman, thank you. >> good talking to you.

tell tamron i'm sorry we missed her. >>ç i will do that. i will pass it along. is it art or invasion of privacy? >> i don't feel comfortable knowing someone was pointing a camera into our places with a telephoto lens. >> a controversial a goodry exhibit in new york city. the subjects are all being photographed. they were photographed in secret. what does your gut tell you? is it art or just downright creepy? don't forget, be sure to like the "news nation" on facebook. [ female announcer ] doctors trust calcium plus vitamin d to support strong bones. and the brand most recommended by... my doctor. my gynecologist. my pharmacist. citracal. citracal.

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the final day of a hearing where o.j. silver spring is hoping to win a new trial. simpson's former attorney, yale galanter took the stand and refuted simpson's claims that he bungled his 2008 armed robbery case so badly that simpson deserves a new trial. o.j. called, he claimed on the witness stand wednesday that galanter told him it was okay to use some force to retrieve items from two sports memorabilia dealers. that galanterç advised him noto testify at his trial and the attorney never told him about a plea deal. >> did you ever tell him that it was within his legal rights to go take his property back from whoever had it? >> no. >> did you ever advise mr. simpson that he didn't have to testify because the state hadn't met its burden of proof? >> no. i always told o.j. that we're going to have to wait and see. and obviously, the decision is

always his. >> where did you talk to mr. simpson about this discussion of a possible deal? >> probably back in florida. >> his response was that he wanted probation? >> his response was no. >> joining me, the las vegas criminal defense attorney. michael, yale galanter also refuted simpson's claim that he did not know any of his associates would have gunned when they accompanied him to that las vegas hotel room to recover property from the memorabilia dealers. how damaging was his testimony today? how damaging was simpson's lawyer's testimony? >> yeah, craig. what it comes down to is what we thought would it come down to. credibility of mr. galanter versus the credibility and believability of mr. simpson. today mr. galanter levied a heavy blow against mr. simpson. when he said, he didn't know anything about the plan to recover the merchandise and when

he found outç about it, he advised mr. simpson did not have a legal right to go and recover those items. right now mr. galanter is under heavy fire by mr. simpson's veteran defense lawyer, and under cross-examination, one of those positions that traditionally criminal defense lawyers do not like to be in. >> typically cases like this, how do they typically turn out? >> well, traditionally, they don't turn out well for the defendant. because there is a heavy, heavy burden to establish ineffective assistance of counsel. every individual, every defendant is entitled to good competent representation. they're not necessarily entitled to the best representation. to rise to a level of ineffective assistance of counsel is a heavy burden. in this case, under cross-examination right now, one of the central issues is why mr. galanter didn't challenge the ad missibility of the audio tapes

that came into evidence in mr. simpson's matter. that is pretty significant. because there was very damaging evidence that came in on those audio tapes. and there was ten hours of tapes of which mr. galanter did not challenge at all. so right now, the issue is why mr. galanter did not challenge the ad missibility of those audios. >> based on your expertise, has o.j. simpson met that burden of proof that you spoke of a few

it features photographs of people during their day to day lives. while some are calling it art, others say it is a downright invasion of privacy. that's because the subjects who were photographed were photographed in secret. now those personal images are on public display and they're also for sale. here's more now from nbc. >> reporter: they're snap shots of the most intimate and private motives. putting a sleeping child to bed. napping. the problem, the people in these pictures had no idea they were being photographed. >> i'm upset. a lot of children live in this building. i have children, young children in this building. >> reporter: the pictures were taken by the artist from his apartment across the street using a telephoto lens. now the photos are the subject of an exhibit called the neighbors. they're onsale for as much as

$8,000 each. >> i'm sure there is a lot we haven't seen and i don't know what he has on film. and i think that's everybody's big concern. what else is there? and what else is he planning on doing with them? >> reporter: the artist argues he's done nothing wrong. while no faces are fully visible, residents of the luxury building argue it is an invasion of privacy. >> i don't feel comfortable knowing someone was pointing a camera into our place with a telephoto lens. >> reporter: the gallonry describes the photos as, quote, social documentation in a very rarified environment. fans of the exhibit agree. >> you can't tell who they are. so i think it's fine. i love that, too. it is mysterious. i love them. >> reporter: he said he got these ideas from bird watching and it is no different. he might have a hard time getting new pictures. since this exhibit opened, a lot of people around here have been

keeping their curtains closed. >> i can believe it. thank you so much. what does your gut tell you? do you think the photographs in the exhibit are actually art? or do you think they are an invasion of privacy? go to facebook.com/newsnation to vote. and that is going to do it for this edition of "news nation." i'm craig melvin in for tamron hall. "the cycle" is up next. 'ppu;v?2 hey hun, remember you only need a few sheets. hmph! [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. ♪ charmin ultra soft is made with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. plus you can use four times less. hope you saved some for me. mhmm! you and the kids. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft. prefer the taste of gevalia house blend over the taste of starbucks house blend? not that we like tooting our own horn but...

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♪ in that song he sings, he isn't going to let those two escape justice. he makes a living off people's taxes. here is another steven miller who makes his money off the

people's taxes. singing for members of congress today. he was grilled for hours on the hill over the agency's controversial practices of singling out conservative groups. for extra scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status. admiral defended himself to members of the house, ways and means who want to know what he knew and when and if he misled congress at hearings last year. >> this was the time frame in 2010 when citizens united was out. there was a lot of discussion in the system about the use of c-4s. people in cincinnati decided, let's start grouping these cases. let centralize these cases. the way they centralize. ized it, troublesome. the concept, not. we're not targeting these people in that sense. >> you sent letters to congress acknowledging our investigation hese allegations. but consistently omitted that such discriminatory practices that are alleged were actually in