Obama fires acting IRS commissioner in bid to quell growing anger over political targeting of Tea Party groups - but he says he was leaving anyway

Steven Miller is ousted but writes face-saving email announcing departure when his 'assignment ends in early June.'

Obama: IRS 'misconduct' is 'inexcusable and Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it.'

Jacob Lew, Obama's trusted Treasury Secretary and former chief of staff, gave Miller his walking papers

IRS reportedly targeted 300 right-wing groups while letting left-wing organizations slide through with far less scrutiny



President Barack Obama has thrown his acting IRS commissioner overboard, making Steven Miller the highest-ranking political casualty thus far in a series of scandals that have swept his administration in recent weeks.

In a hastily called press conference in the East Room of the White House, Obama told reporters that he had asked Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to find out who was responsible for a program that targeted tea party groups and other conservative organizations for a special level of intrusive questioning after they applied for tax-exempt charitable statuses.

'Lew took the first step by requesting and accepting the resignation of the acting director of the IRS,' Obama said.

'It’s important,' he added, 'to institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward.'



But in an email to IRS employees, Miller claimed he would only be leaving next month because his assignment would be over.



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Steven Miller is shown in a CBS report. He has submitted his resignation, but informed employees at the IRS that he would be leaving 'as my acting assignment ends in early June'

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, formerly Obama's chief of staff, gave Miller his walking papers, according to the president

'It is with regret that I will be departing from the IRS as my acting assignment ends in early June,' Miller wrote. 'This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation’s tax agency.'

The IRS, the president conceded, 'improperly screened conservative groups.' He referred to a report released Tuesday by the IRS's Inspector General.



'The misconduct that it uncovered is inexcusable,' Obama exclaimed. 'It's inexcusable and Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it.'

'It should not matter what political stripe you're from,' Obama said. 'The IRS has to operate with absolute integrity.'

President Barack Obama said he would implement the recommendations of the IG report, but insisted that acting IRS Commissioner Steven MIller would be stepping down. It's the highest-profile resignation in his five-year-old administration

Promising to adopt the recommendations of the Inspector General's report, Obama pledged to 'put in place new safeguards to make sure this kind of behavior can't ever happen again.'

'We will work with Congress as it performs its oversight role,' he added, saying the White House would march 'hand in hand with Congress to get this thing fixed.'

Tax laws, he insisted, must be 'enforced in a fair and impartial way.'

Miller's farewell letter cited 'a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation’s tax agency.'