WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder says he’s ordered a Justice Department investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny.

He said the FBI was coordinating with the Department of Justice to see if any laws were broken.

At a news conference Tuesday at the Justice Department, Holder called the practice, in his words, “Outrageous and unacceptable.”

Holder’s comments come a day after President Barack Obama said that, if the agency intentionally targeted such groups, “that’s outrageous and there’s no place for it.”

Steven Miller, the IRS acting chief, has acknowledged “a lack of sensitivity” in the agency’s screenings of political groups seeking tax-exempt status and insisted those mistakes won’t be repeated.