Nothing Nefarious': Why Was Obama Campaign Manager in WH Meetings With Former IRS Chief?

President Obama's 2012 deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, insists it was all policy and no politics at White House meetings she attended with the former IRS commissioner.

"I was in them with him," Cutter said of the "nonpolitical" get togethers during a recent appearance on Jake Tapper's show "The Lead." "So there was nothing nefarious going on."

Stephanie Cutter, deputy campaign manager for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election, talks on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington last year. (Credit: AP)

While it's clear Cutter attended at least some of the 157 White House meetings with Douglas Shulman, what's unclear is why she was there to begin with.

Investor's Business Daily wonders, "Well, if they were not political meetings, why was she there at all? Was she there to offer her health care or tax code expertise?"

While the meetings happened around the time the IRS was deciding to target conservative groups, they apparently were discussions about the implementation of ObamaCare (or Easter Egg Rolls); collective memories now appear fuzzy at best.

What's equally murky is why an individual—whose sole professional concern was sustaining the political career of an incumbent president—attended meetings about purportedly non-political subjects?

Cutter became Obama's deputy campaign manager in September 2011. Shulman, a Democratic donor, IBD notes, was IRS commissioner from March 24, 2008 to November 9, 2012. Cutter was an Obama "attack dog" during the 2012 campaign, IBD writes.

George Landrith's recent commentary in TheBlaze breaks down What a Staggering 157 IRS Visits to the White House Means… He notes:

Official White House records show that the embattled former IRS Commissioner, Douglas Shulman, visited the Obama White House at least 157 times. Most of those visits, interestingly enough, around the time the IRS was deciding to target conservatives. In contrast, not one Obama Cabinet Secretary came anywhere close to 157 White House visits. Not the Secretary of Defense, despite the wars in Iran and Afghanistan. Not the Secretary of State, despite the terrorist attacks at Benghazi and elsewhere amidst the generally unstable world situation. Not the Attorney General, despite the problems associated with Operation Fast and Furious, the administration’s desire to give terrorist’s trials in civilian courts, or the push to close Gitmo. Not the head of Homeland Security, despite the problems with border security or the debates surrounding immigration.

To many observers, 157 visits — about one visit every nine days – sounds excessive. In contrast, President George W. Bush had only one meeting in four years with the IRS Commissioner.

Even though it is unprecedented, it is not a crime for the White House to meet frequently with the IRS Commissioner. It is a crime, however, to conspire to abuse the power of the government to target political “enemies.”

When asked why he went to the White House so often, Shulman said he went with his kids to the White House Easter Egg Roll. That’s a lot of Easter Eggs and a lot of Easters. Shulman continued that he wasn’t sure what the meetings were about. But he opined that they may have discussed ObamaCare implementation.

Cuttter's admission is the latest in an increasingly bizarre string of revelations concerning the IRS (including Shulman's wife and her connection to liberal causes and the federal agency's over-the-top spending practices).

Here's Cutter admitting she had attended meetings with Shulman at the White House on CNN's "The Lead" with Jake Tapper:

(H/T: TheBlaze Blog)

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