At a House Ways & Means Committee hearing today, we're hearing from several conservative groups who say they were targeted by the IRS when they applied for tax-exempt status.

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Kevin Kookogey, president of Linchpins of Liberty, was the first to testify. In his opening statement, he said he applied for 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit educational organization, but as of today has been waiting 29 months to be granted that status by the IRS. He said the IRS asked him to identify the political affiliations of his mentors and his political position on many issues.

He was also told to inform the federal government "in detail" what he would be teaching students and who he was "training." Kookogey asked what would have happened if he had turned over the names of students, including minors, to the IRS, saying he could have faced legal action from parents.

Kookogey said numerous calls to the IRS about his application went unanswered. Finally, he received a call back from an IRS agent in Cincinnati on Dec. 31, 2011, who told him they were "waiting on guidance from our superiors as to your organization and similar organizations."

Watch his full opening statement above.