Steve Neavling

The acting commissioner of the IRS resigned Wednesday after the agency disclosed it had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, the Washington Post reports.

President Obama demanded the resignation of Steven T. Miller in hopes of quelling the controversy.

Obama spoke briefly but passionately about the IRS’ disclosure.

“Americans are right to be angry about it, and I’m angry about it,” he said, adding that he “will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency, but especially in the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has.”

Reputed Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger is asking a federal judge to force the disclosure of the identity of a confidential informant, the Boston Herald reports.

Bulger’s lawyers said the informant can help discredit two witnesses who plan to testify against the aging gangster at the criminal trial, which begins June 13.

“The information provided by the source is highly relevant for  impeachment purposes. It demonstrates the willingness of both Weeks and Martorano to shade their version of events in a manner favorable to themselves and those they wish to protect,” Bulger attorney J.W. Carney  wrote.

“Their intentional withholding of incriminating information about their friends raises serious questions about whether they were truthful in their dealings with the government,” he added.

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Steve Neavling

Attorney General Eric Holder defended the secret gathering of telephone records at the Associated Press on Wednesday, citing a serious national security leak, the AP reports.

Grilled by Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House, Holder testified that he has faith in those conducting the investigation and recused himself from the case because “I’m a possessor of information eventually leaked.”

Holder said he couldn’t explain the subpoenas or why the IRS didn’t try to negotiate with the news agency to get the records, the AP wrote.

Members of Congress weren’t happy.

“There doesn’t appear to be any acceptance of responsibility for things that have gone wrong,” Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., told Holder.

Louis Freeh

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s firm has launched a private investigation on behalf of companies suing Pilot Flying J to determine how much the diesel fuel retailer may have bilked customers out of rebates, the Associated Press reports.

The plaintiffs hired Freeh after FBI agents raided Pilot’s headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. in search of information about the alleged scam.

The company’s CEO, Jimmy Haslam, also owns the Cleveland Browns.

Feds are investigating allegations that the company boosted profits by withholding rebates to diesel customers, the AP wrote.

On Friday, Justice Department officials revealed that they had been going through The A.P.’s records for months. The dragnet covered work, home and cellphone records used by almost 100 people at one of the oldest and most reputable news organizations. James Cole, a deputy attorney general, offered no further explanation on Tuesday, saying only that it was part of a “criminal investigation involving highly classified material” from early 2012.

Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said he could not comment on the details of the phone records seizure, which he said was an open investigation — although he was happy to comment on the open investigation into the tax audits of conservative groups, which he said might have been criminal and were “certainly outrageous and unacceptable.”

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Steve Neavling

Witnesses said they saw police ruthlessly beat a California man to death with a baton.

Problem is, one the videos confiscated from witnesses has been erased, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood is asking the FBI to investigate whether authorities tampered with the video to hide evidence of a brutal beating.

“Our credibility is at stake here,” Youngblood told the L.A. Times.

The phones were taken to the FBI’s Sacramento office for an examination.

The FBI also is investigating the beating death, the Times reported.

Steve Neavling

The Justice Department’s probe into the IRS includes questions about whether the tax agency withheld information from Congress and targeted members of conservative groups, the Washington Times reports.

A government audit released Tuesday found that the IRS innapropriately singled out the Tea Party and other conservative groups because of their politically charged names.

Some of the groups waited so long to receive tax-exempt status that they simply gave up, the Washington Times reported.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the Justice Department is trying to determine whether the IRS broke federal tax laws.

Some members of Congress are calling for a special prosecutor to investigate.