(Obama addressing allegations against IRS/ Screen shot ABC News)

IRS officials said at least two other offices were involved in the targeting, showing that the operation spread well beyond the Cincinnati branch that was originally blamed, according to the Washington Post.

Documents show that IRS officials in Washington questioned conservative groups about their donors, tax-exemption requests and other aspects of their operations.

Officials in the Southern California branches of El Monte and Laguna Nigel also sent queries to tea-party-affiliated groups.

"If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that's outrageous. And there's no place for it," Obama told reporters Monday.

The IRS also applied extra scrutiny to applicants with statements that "criticize how the country is run" or that sought to educate the public on how to "make America a better place to live," CNN reported.

Cincinanti officials reportedly targeted groups with "tea party," "patriot," or "9/12" in their names, said the Washington Post.

IRS officials knew that their agents were overly targeting conservative groups for additional scrutiny on tax dollars. Other reports show the agency has been singling out conservative groups since March 2010, according to a CNN report.

Congress reportedly began questioning the IRS in March 2012, with letters citing a "lack of balance" in IRS efforts.

Marcus Owens, a former IRS division director, said that political organizations seeking tax exemptions should get a closer look, but not because of their name, "which was a mistake."

Read the whole story at CNN and more at the Washington Post