US President Barack Obama said Thursday he had not known about abuses by tax officials who targeted conservative groups until a report into the affair was leaked to the press last week. "I promise you this. The minute I found out about it, then my focus has been about making sure we get the thing fixed," Obama told reporters. The president spoke just a day after sacking acting Internal Revenue Service chief Steven Miller over reports that some agents had singled out groups affiliated with the ultra-conservative Tea Party and other right-wing causes.

US President Barack Obama said Thursday he had not known about abuses by tax officials who targeted conservative groups until a report into the affair was leaked to the press last week. "I promise you this. The minute I found out about it, then my focus has been about making sure we get the thing fixed," Obama told reporters. col/dc

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is trying to halt a perception spreading among both White House opponents and allies that he has been passive and disengaged as a trio of unexpected controversies consume his second term. On Wednesday Obama released a trove of documents related to the Benghazi attack and forced out the top official at the federal tax collection agency following revelations that the it targeted conservative political groups.