IRS Watchdog Investigates Charge that Christine O'Donnell Was Targeted Over Senate Bid

Political hit squad?

The IRS watchdog that uncovered the tea party-targeting scandal is looking into whether Christine O'Donnell was unfairly scrutinized by the IRS during her failed 2010 Senate bid, according to a Republican aide.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration will "soon" interview O'Donnell, according to an aide in Sen. Chuck Grassley's office. "They have something scheduled," the aide said. …

That same day, the IRS put a tax lien in her name on a house she no longer owned, arguing that O'Donnell owed the government $12,000, according to Grassley's office.

O'Donnell told Grassley's office that she provided the IRS with documents needed to clear her tax record "four or five times, and they kept getting 'lost,'" the aide said.

The IRS later said it had made a mistake, which the agency said was the result of a computer glitch, and removed the lien.

The lien is significant because O'Donnell's opponents cited it as evidence that she was financially irresponsible even though she espoused financial stability for the federal government.