Article content continued

Though Miller and another top IRS official are stepping down, the chairman of the committee said that would not be enough.

“The reality is this is not a personnel problem. This is a problem of the IRS being too large, too powerful, too intrusive and too abusive of honest, hardworking taxpayers,” said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.

At one point, anti-IRS sentiment was voiced by spectators, who included members of grass-roots conservative groups. They broke into cheers after Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said, “This is absolutely an overreach, and this is an outrage for all Americans.”

Camp also said the tougher examinations that conservative groups encountered seemed to be part of a “culture of cover-ups and intimidation in this administration.” He offered no other examples.

Camp’s remark about cover-ups drew a sharp retort from the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan. Levin said if the hearing became a preview of the 2014 political campaigns, “we’ll be making a very, very serious mistake.”

The administration has been forced on the defensive about last September’s terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and the government’s seizure of The Associated Press’ telephone records as part of a leaks investigation.

Republicans are hoping to link the issues in an effort to raise questions about President Barack Obama’s credibility and make it harder for him to press a second-term agenda.