mr. werfel as the commissioner of the irs on an acting basis and we can expect that announcement anytime now, guys. >> all right, eamon, we'll look forward to that. >>> meantime, gold is continuing to lose its shine today. bertha coombs is at the nymex with those details. >> interesting today, because we did have the dollar easing back and that did float some commodities, just into positive territory, but not gold, down

mr. werfel to take action and implement the necessary changes. within 30 days, mr. werfel will report back to the secretary and the president on his progress and on any future actions he expects to take. before i describe the treasury's interactions to the i.g. related to this audit, it's important to underscore two critical points. first, there is no indication the treasury was involved in the improper conduct at the i.r.s. the i.g. report cannot find any evidence the treasury or others outside the i.r.s. had any role. mr. george confirmed this point in the testimony before the ways and means testimony last friday and before the senate finance committee yesterday. second, the improper conduct already had ended by the time mr. george informed treasury of the facts of his audit. mr. george's report states the improper conduct ended in may of 2012. mr. george testified he first notified treasury of the fact he was conducting an audit in june of 2012. at some point in 2012, though i do not recall precisely when mr. george notified me at his initiative he had undertaken

mr. werfel knows nothing. can you make available to us forth discussions that occurred with anyone so we have a complete record of who knew what and when? we do not know any of this until long after the 28th of march. >> very good. we will do that. >> we are on a roll on the illinois folks. >> thank you, mr. chairman, for holding this hearing. i commend you for your composure. it seems to me you have been testifying around the clock all week. this is my second encounter with you from another committee. 1/3 ofng to your report, the organization selected for further review were groups with party,"s "tea "9/12."s," and is that correct? >> yes. >> not of these targeted groups have been denied. is that correct? >> yes. >> several progressive groups have come forward to say that they were also included in this enhanced review process. according to these groups, they also received requests for additional information similar to those sent to conservative group's. the irs asked them for detailed about meeting minutes,

mr. werfel has agreed to serve through the end of the fiscal year, september 30th.n just about four months werfel will be on the job there. so his main task, according to the white house, will be to try and implement short-term fixes over at the irs. i would note that i found it interesting he is the recipient of both national and local awards from the association of government accountants. liz: okay, accountants. >> reporter: yeah. liz: all right. well, we'll watch for that. again, he's inheriting a big mess, so we'll see how he handles it. thank you very much, peter barnes. >> you bet. liz: steve nicholas is bulking up on the booze and trimming up on the soda. >> reporter: big news brewing, liz. i want to bring you right over to constellation brands. this is a stock that has moved today to an all-time high. it's up 3% at the moment. they are liking the group overall based on what they've seen in the first quarter. the results and the commentary that they have seen from all the companies, they think there's upside potential in the alcohol realm and less so for soda

mr. werfel as the commissioner of the irs on an acting basis and we can expect that announcement anytime right, eamon, we'll look forward to that. >>> meantime, gold is continuing to lose its shine today. bertha coombs is at the nymex with those details. >> interesting today, because we did have the dollar easing back and that did float some commodities, just into positive territory, but not gold, down for the sixth straight day, and certainly fund selling continues to put pressure on sentiment when it comes to the pressure metal. we saw soros, northern trust and others get out of their positions, although paulson held on. we did see a couple of o funds, ubs and jpmorgan actually buying into the gld. and what's interesting, the world gold council also saying in the first quarter, we saw more interest in fiscal demand in china and in india, both of them up about 25% or so in the first quarter. and kelly, if they liked it above 1,400, they may be buying those ingots here at 1335. >> we saw that in hong kong and macau. the jewelry stores were absolutely packed. some of the most famous inves

mr. werfel to take those actions. >> it's been brought up with a couple of the ladies that work with you, what is being done about those two? there's a lot of concern about them. they ran a large operation and it seems to be at the heart of the issues. i think it has to be done in an aggressive, clear way in the next week or two. >> i don't know if it will be or not. that will be up to the next acting commissioner. >> let me ask you in terms of the new acting commissioner. are we looking to gate permanent commissioner or is this -- looking to get a permanent commissioner or is this a commissioner for a period of time? >> we ought to have a nomination. >> i hope. i think at the end of the day, leadership matters. getting the right cture, the right environment within the organization, the i.r.s., it needs incredible leadership, incredible integrity and we need to make sure that person, not so much the acting one, but ther permanent one is the right choice. >> i agree, sir. >> thank you, and i appreciate the this opportunity. let me say a couple of things and i will ask a question. this is n

mr. werfel rose through the rank at omb and the justice department as a budget analyst and a lawyer before president obama tapped into serve as omb comptroller in 2009. live coverage here on c-span2. [inaudible conversations] >> the committee will come to order. on may 10, lois lerner, director of exempt or positions for the internal revenue service division that oversees tax-exempt groups finally acknowledged at a decent been targeting conservative leaning political organizations. four days later, the treasury inspector general for tax administration confirmed that and i quote the irs used inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax exempt status, end quote. the report also confirmed that this power began as far back as 2010. this revelation goes against the very principles of free speech and liberty upon which this country was founded. the blatant disregard with which the agency has treated congress and the american taxpayer raises serious concerns about leadership at the irs. let's establish the facts that we do know. based on the ticket report we know that for an

mr. werfel to take those actions. >> it's been brought up with a couple of the ladies that work with you, what is being done about those two? there's a lot of concern about them. they ran a large operation and it seems to be at the heart of the issues. i think it has to be done in an aggressive, clear way in the next week or two. >> i don't know if it will be or not. that will be up to the next acting commissioner. >> let me ask you in terms of the new acting commissioner. are we looking to gate permanent commissioner or is this -- looking to get a permanent commissioner or is this a commissioner for a period of time? >> we ought to have a nomination. >> i hope. i think at the end of the day, leadership matters. theing the right culture, right environment within the organization, the i.r.s., it needs incredible leadership, incredible integrity and we need to make sure that person, not so much the acting one, but ther permanent one is the rhtgreesir. >> thank you, and i appreciate the this opportunity. let me say a couple of things and i will ask a question. this is not an easy hearing for

he appointed a new acting irs commissioner, daniel werfel, a high-level career krivl servant who has served under president obama and president bush. mr. obama also stood by his beleaguered attorney general, eric holder, for the justice department's unprecedented decision to subpoena associated press phone records as part of their investigation into national security leaks. >> he's an outstanding attorney general, and he does his job with integrity, and i expect he will continue to do so. >> reporter: and as for benghazi, the president tried to turn the debate away from how it was handled to how to prevent another attack in the future. >> i've directed the defense department to ensure that our military can respond lightning quick in times of crisis, but we're not going to be able to do this alone. we're going to need congress as a partner. >> reporter: this week's swirl of controversies has some comparing obama to an unpopular former president. >> how do you feel of comparisons by your critics to this week's scandals to those that happened under the nixon administration? >> i'll let you guys engage this those comparisons, and you can