What did Holly Paz tell IRS investigators?

◼ The transcript of congressional investigators’ May 21 conversations with Holly Paz, who served as a top official in the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt organizations division until recently, just came to light Sunday. Paz was among the first IRS employees to be interviewed as part of an inquiry into whether or not the agency improperly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. - Juliet Eilperin/Washington Post

...2. IRS officials in Washington first learned of the Cincinnati office’s decision to single out tea party groups in February 2010, right from the start of the program.
Paz said at that time, “a case was identified where there was potential for political campaign activity, and that was when they reached out to Washington and the case was transferred to Washington.”...

5. Officials in the Cincinnati office used “tea party” as a shortcut to refer to all groups that may have engaged in extensive political activity.

At one point Paz’s attorney Roel Campos asked her during the interview with Democratic aides, “What were these employees’ explanations for using the term ‘tea party’?

“That it was really just an efficient way to refer to this issue; that they all understood the real issue was campaign intervention,” Paz responded.

“It was a shortcut or abbreviation?” Campos inquired.

“Yes. Just sort of a shorthand reference,” she said. “You know, I think they may have reference, you know, it’s like calling soda ‘Coke’ or, you know, tissue ‘Kleenex.’ They knew what they meant, and the issue was campaign intervention.”...