remember the old saying: what happens in cincinatti, nothing happens in cincinatti. that's what issa said. but he refused to release the full transcripts for a very good reason which he also refused to release. but on on tuesday, congressman elijah cummings released the full transcript to the press. and it proved conclusively that issa was right. to not want the transcript released. jim? >> a cincinatti-based i.r.s. manager who describes himself as a conservative republican told congressional investigators there was no evidence that the white house was involved in targeting conservative groups. >> stephen: god damn it. so this scandal is not connected to obama. i don't want to hear that. i want to hear tonight's word. [ cheers and applause ] truthinews. nation, listen. i don't know about you, but i do not watch the news to see what i don't want to hear. and i shouldn't have to. these days there's a news channel for everyone: conservatives have fox. liberals have msnbc, and the elderly who lost the remote in 1988 have headline news. now, cable networks have one cardin

and i would just tell you, this is not a problem that's in cincinatti. this is a problem that's deep in the bowls of this government. >> reporter: democrats like washington state's jim mcdermott rejected that notion. >> the republicans are looking for a conspiracy where there isn't one. >> reporter: he argues the real culprits are the confusing rules the i.r.s. must use to determine whether groups that apply for tax-exempt status can be considered social welfare organizations, which are eligible or political advocacy groups which are not eligible. >> what happened to you was unfair. it was unfair. and incredibly inconvenient. but it was a mistake. >> reporter: all in all, the i.r.s. flagged about 300 groups for extra scrutiny. and about a third of them were tea party groups. but, scott, democrats had an opportunity to bring forward a progressive group that got caught up in all of this today, and they declined saying they don't believe this is a democratic or republican issue. >> pelley: more hearings to come. nancy, thanks very much. president obama toda

he said, for the targeting of tea party groups to have originated with a few rogue agents in the cincinatti office. he went on to describe how the agency's washington office requested the files of specific tea party groups that contain their applications for tax exemption. it's widely believed that the bc -- d.c. office was closely involved in the targeting of these groups from the outset. it also suggests that the intrusive questions and inappropriate requests made of these applicants, some pro-life groups, most notably the port is -- coalition of life or iowa, which an irs agent asked to pledge not to protest outside the planned parenthood office in exchange for granting tax exemption. that is completely unacceptable. do you agree with that? >> let me start by saying i think your question interest into a particular taxpayer and, therefore, i am restricted by 1603 from commenting on that particular one. as a broader matter, those types of questions are from my vantage point -- i know i'm early in the job - >> there are numerous reports that we are hearing from investigators who have talked