Obama Fires Head of US Tax Agency Over Scandal

 An angry President Barack Obama sacked the acting head of the US Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday over a fast moving scandal sparked when officials unfairly targeted conservative groups.
Obama said Treasury Secretary Jack Lew had asked for and received the resignation of tax agency chief Steven Miller and promised a new system of checks and safeguards to make sure the episode was not repeated.
"Given the controversy surrounding this audit, it's important to institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward," Obama said. Read more after the cut....


The president, who has dismissed Republican attempts to link him to the scandal at the independent IRS agency, also pledged to work directly with Congress as it carries out its oversight duties in the matter.
Obama said that evidence of abuses in the tax agency, revealed by a report by a government watchdog released on Tuesday, were "inexcusable."
"Americans have a right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it. Obama said at the White House, after meeting top Treasury Department officials.