President Barack Obama announced the resignation of the top official at the federal tax agency following a controversy over the targeting of conservative political groups for extra scrutiny, moving aggressively to respond to one of several scandals plaguing his administration. 

Obama, who has been criticized for appearing passive in his response to the tax controversy that erupted last week, declared Wednesday, “I am angry about it” and said the American people had a right to be angry as well.

He announced the resignation of Steven Miller, acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, a day after the release of an inspector general's report that showed ineffective management at the IRS allowed agents to improperly target conservative groups for more than 18 months.

The IRS investigation is one of several scandals dogging the Obama administration, including its response to last year's deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, and the seizure of Associated Press phone records in a leak investigation. The trio of tempests has emboldened opposition Republicans as they seek to stymie Obama's second-term agenda and score political points ahead of next year's congressional elections.

The Justice Department and three congressional committees are also investigating the IRS for targeting tea party and other conservative groups during the 2010 congressional elections and the 2012 presidential election.

The agency started targeting groups with “Tea Party,” `'Patriots” or “9/12 Project” in their applications for tax exempt status in March 2010, the inspector general's report said. By August 2010, it was part of the written criteria used to flag groups for additional scrutiny.

Tea party groups emerged after Obama took office in 2009 and take their name from the Boston Tea Party, a 1773 protest by American colonists against taxation without representation in the British government. The conservative groups generally advocate limited government.

As the IRS investigation widened, the leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, told reporters Wednesday, “My question is, who's going to jail over this scandal?”

Obama announced Miller's resignation after meeting at the White House with top officials from the Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS.

Miller became acting commissioner in November, after Commissioner Douglas Shulman completed his five-year term. Shulman had been appointed by President George W. Bush.

The president had proceeded cautiously after the IRS controversy was made public Friday. While he initially said the accusations were “outrageous,” he also said he wanted to wait until the inspector general's report was released before addressing what should be done to hold accountable those responsible.

Besides seeking Miller's resignation, Obama said his administration would put in place new safeguards to prevent a recurrence of the IRS actions and said he insisted the IRS implement the inspector general's recommendations immediately. The IRS had agreed to seven of nine recommendations contained in the report.

Obama said the improper behavior at the IRS was especially egregious “given the power that it has and the reach that it has into all of our lives.”

In a letter to IRS staff Wednesday, Miller said he will leave his role as acting commissioner in June.

“This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation's tax agency,” Miller said.

The report lays much of the blame on IRS supervisors in Washington who oversaw a group of specialists in Cincinnati, Ohio, who screened applications for tax exempt status. It does not indicate that Washington initiated the targeting of conservative groups, but it does say a top supervisor in Washington did not adequately supervise agents in the field even after she learned the agents were acting improperly.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, said it will take time for the Justice Department investigation to determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing.

The criminal investigation could include potential civil rights violations, false statements and potential violations of a law that prohibits federal employees from engaging in some partisan political activities, Holder said.

“This will not be about parties, this will not be about ideological persuasions. Anybody who has broken the law will be held accountable,” Holder said.

IRS agents were trying to determine whether the political activities of the conservative groups disqualified them for tax exempt status. These groups were claiming tax exempt status as organizations promoting social welfare. Unlike other charitable groups, they can engage in political activity. But politics cannot be their primary mission.

It is up to the IRS to make the determination.

But by using improper criteria, the IRS targeted some groups, even though there were no indications that they engaged in significant political activities, the report said. Other non-tea party groups that had significant political activities were not screened, the report said.

The additional screening resulted in long delays as revenue service agents asked intrusive, sometimes inappropriate questions, or merely let applications languish, the report said. Inappropriate questions included requests for lists of donors and the political affiliation of officers. (AP)