IRS releases list of groups targeted in scandal – 3 years later
Three years after the IRS admitted officials singled out conservative
groups for extra scrutiny, the tax-collecting agency has released a
near-complete list of the organizations targeted.
And it numbers in the hundreds — for the first time
showing the extent to which the agency slow-walked applications for
tax-exempt status.
The new list shows a total of 426 organizations, far
higher than what the Treasury Department’s inspector general believed
there to be in May 2013, when he identified 298 groups.
The names span the gamut, covering well-known groups
like Tea Party Patriots but also lower-profile local outfits like the
Louisiana Campaign for Liberty, Patriots of Charleston, the Asheville
Tea Party, Inc. and many more.
The Washington Times
first reported on the list, which the IRS filed last month after being
prodded by federal judges. The document was produced as part of a
class-action lawsuit being led by Tea Party groups.
According to the Times, 60 of the groups' names
contained the word “tea,” 33 contained the word “patriot,” eight used
the word “Constitution” and 26 others had the word “liberty” in the
title.
A lawyer representing NorCal Tea Party Patriots as
part of the lawsuit said the list may have increased in number so
dramatically since 2013 as the IRS targeted more liberal groups after
the investigation began so as to try and soften the perception of bias.
“Based on these changes, which to date remain
unexplained, a very real possibility — if not probability — exists that
the IRS modified its targeting in light of the investigations, packing
its own internal lists of targeted groups to support its preferred
narrative, including by adding ideologically diverse groups,” Edward D.
Greim told The Times.
Regardless of the backstory, a federal judge earlier
this year scolded the IRS for allegedly holding up requests for
information.
“The lawsuit has progressed as slowly as the
underlying applications themselves: at every turn the IRS has resisted
the plaintiffs’ requests for information regarding the IRS’s treatment
of the plaintiff class, eventually to the open frustration of the
district court,” Circuit Court Judge Raymond Kethledge said in a March
ruling.
“Among the most serious allegations a federal court
can address are that an Executive agency has targeted citizens for
mistreatment based on their political views. No citizen—Republican or
Democrat, socialist or libertarian—should be targeted or even have to
fear being targeted on those grounds,” Kethledge said.
House Republicans ramped up pressure on the IRS in
May, introducing a measure to censure IRS Commissioner John Koskinen --
and remove him from office without a pension.
Tea Party Patriots on Monday renewed their call for Koskinen's impeachment.
__________________________________
IRS Scandal: It's Dangerous To Be On Wrong Side Of Obama
07/23/2015 06:35 PM ET
The IRS was intended to be a revenue-collecting arm of the government, not a political weapon. AP
View Enlarged Image
Corruption: A
new batch of IRS documents shows an agency that's more political than
practical. Besides harassing groups applying for nonprofit status, it
went after donors of existing groups.
Documents produced by the IRS confirm that being on the wrong side of this administration is a dangerous place to be.
Judicial
Watch, which used the Freedom of Information Act to pry the documents
from the government's grasp, said Wednesday they "confirm that the IRS used donor lists to tax-exempt organizations to target those donors for audits."
Among
these groups was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. That organization "may
find itself under high scrutiny," an IRS official whose name was
redacted told IRS attorney Lorraine Gardner in an email.
"One can only hope," that unnamed official added.
Another
group whose donors were objects of extra IRS attention was Crossroads
GPS, a group founded by Karl Rove, a member of President George W.
Bush's staff.
It appears that the IRS' pretext for the audits was
the gift tax that was once levied on donations to nonprofits. It has not
been enforced since 1982, Judicial Watch pointed out, because the
Supreme Court ruled it violated the First Amendment.
Naturally, the records show that former IRS official Lois Lerner supported the gift tax audits.
The
documents clearly indicate that the IRS' focus was political. Judicial
Watch President Tom Fitton says that "snarky comments" found in the
documents "about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the obsession with
conservative Crossroads GPS show that the IRS was targeting critics of
the Obama administration."
Fitton says that "President Obama may
want to continue to lie about his IRS scandal" — he denied the issue
existed as recently as this week — but Fitton has sifted through the
documents and believes they "tell the truth."
Fitton adds: "His
IRS hated conservatives and was willing to illegally tax and audit
citizens to shut down opposition to Barack Obama's policies and
re-election."
It would be comforting to think that because the IRS
has been exposed, groups that oppose the administration are now safe
from harassment.
But that's not the case. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report saying political targeting of nonprofits is still "possible in the audit process."
The
watchdog notes: "Unfortunately, the IRS has not taken sufficient steps
to prevent targeting Americans based on their personal beliefs."
Political
beliefs aren't alone under the glare. The GAO says targeting can be
based on an organization's religious or educational position as well as
"other views."
The IRS was intended to be a revenue-collecting arm
of the government, not a weapon politicians can use to crush their
opponents. But that's what it's become and it's far beyond reform. It
needs to be at the front of a long line of federal agencies that are
abolished.
the obama regime Justice Department Was Involved In IRS Targeting, Lerner Emails Reveal
Sadly,
the 18 month investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative
groups isn’t over, and it may be worse than anyone thought. A federal
judge has broken loose more emails that the DOJ had surely hoped would
never surface. The picture it reveals isn’t pretty. The documents prove
that Lois Lerner met with DOJ’s Election Crimes Division a month before
the 2010 elections.
It has to be embarrassing to the DOJ, which may not be the most
impartial one to be investigating the IRS. In fact, the DOJ withheld
over 800 pages of Lerner documents citing “taxpayer privacy” and
“deliberative privilege.” Yet these internal DOJ documents show
Ms. Lerner was talking to DOJ officials about prosecuting tax-exempt
entities (yes, criminally!) two years before the IRS conceded there was inappropriate targeting.
Ms. Lerner met with top officials from the DOJ’s Election Crimes
Branch in October of 2010. Although Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the DOJ (Judicial Watch v. Department of Justice, No. 14-cv-01239), the DOJ coughed up dirt only on court order. Even then, the DOJ handed over only two pages of heavily redacted emails.
(AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)
What’s more, the DOJ withheld 832 pages in their entirety. They
revealed that Mr. Obama’s DOJ called an October 8, 2010 meeting with the
IRS “concerning 501(c)(4) issues.” On September 30, 2010, the DOJ’s
Election Crimes prosecutor emailed Ms. Lerner:
“Hi Lois-It’s been a long time, and you might not remember me, I’ve
taken on [REDACTED] duties. I’m looking forward to meeting you, Can we
chat in advance? I’m a [REDACTED]“
Ms. Lerner responded on October 2, 2010:
“Sure-that’s a good Idea [sic]. I have a meeting out of the office
Monday morning, but will try you when I get back sometime early
afternoon. You can try me at 202 283-8848.”
Documents from a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the IRS show that Ms. Lerner asked the DOJ whether tax-exempt entities could be criminally prosecuted. This May 8, 2013
email by Ms. Lerner went to Nikole C. Flax, Chief of Staff to Acting
IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller, who would later be fired by President
Obama:
“I got a call today from Richard Pilger Director Elections Crimes
Branch at DOJ … He wanted to know who at IRS the DOJ folk s [sic] could
talk to about Sen. Whitehouse idea at the hearing that DOJ could piece
together false statement cases about applicants who “lied” on their
1024s–saying they weren’t planning on doing political activity, and then
turning around and making large visible political expenditures. DOJ is
feeling like it needs to respond, but want to talk to the right folks at
IRS to see whether there are impediments from our side and what, if any
damage this might do to IRS programs. I told him that sounded like we
might need several folks from IRS…”
DOJ’s Mr. Pilger admitted that DOJ officials met Ms. Lerner in October 2010. Moreover, according to congressional investigators,
a Lerner email from October 5, 2010 shows the IRS sent the FBI and DOJ a
“1.1 million page database of information from 501(c)(4) tax exempt
organizations” that contained confidential taxpayer information.
In her May 2013 answer to a planted question
about the alleged targeting of Tea Party and conservative groups, Ms.
Lerner suggested that the alleged targeting occurred due to an “uptick”
in 501 (c)(4) applications to the IRS. In reality, there was a decrease, and as for targeting (what targeting?), well, you know the rest.
Remember those rogue IRS employees in Cincinnati? They were confused.
And while all Americans should be concerned, Judicial Watch sounds fit
to be tied.
Perhaps the latter is an overstatement. Yet it is getting harder and harder to simply accept President Obama’s ‘no smidgen of corruption’ remark made to Fox News in February, no matter how sincere and forthright his delivery.
You can reach me at Wood@WoodLLP.com. This discussion is not intended as legal advice, and cannot be relied upon for any purpose without the services of a qualified professional.
Judicial Watch announced today that the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) admitted to the court that it failed to
search any of the IRS standard computer systems for the “missing” emails
of Lois Lerner and other IRS officials. The admission appears in an IRS
legal brief opposing the Judicial Watch request that a federal court
judge allow discovery into how “lost and/or destroyed” IRS records may
be retrieved.
Judicial Watch announced today that the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) admitted to the court that it failed to search any of the IRS
standard computer systems for the “missing” emails of Lois Lerner and
other IRS officials. The admission appears in an IRS legal brief
opposing the Judicial Watch request that a federal court judge allow
discovery into how “lost
NOVEMBER 24, 2014 AT 11:01 AM
Judicial Watch announced today that on November 6, 2014, it filed
a Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit against the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) seeking “any and all records” relating to the agency’s
“monitoring of churches and other tax exempt religious organizations”
for alleged political activity.
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The official at the center of the Internal Revenue Service tea party
scandal once dismissed complaints that labor unions were not reporting
millions of dollars in political activities on their tax forms,
according to an email obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
In 2007, Lerner responded directly to a complaint that some major
labor unions reported completely different amounts of political
expenditures when filing with the IRS and the Department of Labor.
At the time of the email, Lerner was the Director of Exempt Organizations at the IRS.
Lerner wrote, “We looked at the information you provided regarding
organizations that report substantial amounts of political activity and
lobbying expenditures on the DOL Form LM-2, but report little to no
political expenditures on the Form 990 filed with the IRS.”
“We believe this difference in reporting does not necessarily
indicate that the organization has incorrectly reported to either the
DOL or the IRS,” Lerner concluded.
Don Todd, the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of
Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) at the time the email was sent,
confirmed seeing Lerner’s email and remembering similar complaints at
the time. OLMS oversees labor union financial disclosures within the
Department of Labor.
“The laws never been enforced,” Todd told TheDCNF. “The IRS was
telling us it would cost more to enforce the law then they would
collect.”
In 2006, the year leading up to Lerner’s email, the national
headquarters for the AFL-CIO reported no direct or indirect political
expenditures with the IRS on their 990 form, leaving the line 81a blank.
That same year, the AFL-CIO reported $29,585,661 in political
activities with the Department of Labor.
Also in 2006 the Teamsters Union reported no political expenditures
with the IRS while at the same time reporting $7,081,965 with the Labor
Department.
Again in 2006, Unite-Here reported no political activity with the IRS and $1,451,002 with the Labor Department.
In 2005, the National Education Association also reported no
political expenditures with the IRS while at the same time reporting
$24,985,250 with the Labor Department.
Labor union political spending overwhelmingly benefits Democrats.
Todd told TheDNCF Lerner may have been playing favorites. Lerner has
been accused of singling out tea party groups applying for tax-exempt
status.
Lerner acknowledged in the 2007 email, “The definition of political
campaign activity required to be reported on Form LM2 coincides with the
definition of political campaign activity expenditures required to be
reported on Form 990.”
But she did offer some possible reasons for the discrepancies. “The
Form LM-2 does not separate this reporting from the reporting of
lobbying expenditures,” she wrote. “Furthermore, even if section
501(c)(5) labor organizations were required to report their lobbying
expenditures, the amount required to be reported on Form LM-2 includes
activity, such as attempting to influence regulations, that is not
required to be reported as lobbying, as the IRS limitations apply to
legislative lobbying.”
Lerner conceded, “Having said that, we did see some instances that
raised concerns and we referred that information to our Dallas office to
determine whether examination is warranted.” It does not appear any
further investigation was conducted.
The Bush administration mandated more detailed disclosure
requirements for labor unions, but they were relaxed by the Obama
administration’s Labor Department.
An IRS spokesman told TheDCNF the agency had no “immediate comment” on the matter.
Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner called conservatives 'crazies'
Jul 30th 2014 1:00PM
FILE
- In this March 5, 2014, file photo, former Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) official Lois Lerner speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The
Justice Department is investigating the circumstances behind the
disappearance of emails from Lerner, part of a broader criminal inquiry
into whether the agency had targeted conservative groups seeking
tax-exempt status, according to congressional testimony released
Wednesday. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)
By Stephen Ohlemacher
WASHINGTON (AP) - A former IRS official at the heart of the agency's tea
party controversy called conservative Republicans "crazies" and more in
emails released Wednesday.
Lois Lerner headed the IRS division that handles applications for
tax-exempt status. In a series of emails with a colleague in November
2012, Lerner made two disparaging remarks about members of the GOP,
including one remark that was profane.
Rep. Dave Camp, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee,
released the emails Wednesday as part of his committee's investigation.
The Michigan Republican says the emails show Lerner's "disgust with
conservatives."
In one email, Lerner called members of the GOP crazies. In the other,
she called them "assholes." The committee redacted the wording to
"_holes" in the material it released publicly but a committee
spokeswoman confirmed to the AP that the email said "assholes."
Congress and the Justice Department are investigating whether the IRS
improperly scrutinized applications for tax-exempt status from
conservative groups.
Camp sent copies of the emails to the Justice Department, saying they
provide further proof that Lerner willfully targeted conservatives.
Lerner has since retired from the agency. Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lerner has emerged as a central figure in several congressional
investigations into the IRS' handling of applications for tax-exempt
status by tea party and other conservative groups. Twice Lerner refused
to answer questions at congressional hearings, invoking her
constitutional right against self-incrimination.
In June, the IRS told Congress that an untold number of Lerner's emails were lost when her computer hard drive crashed in 2011.
In the newly released emails, Lerner was apparently traveling in
Great Britain when she uses her Blackberry to send a series of emails to
a colleague at the IRS. Camp said Lerner was using her government email
account.
Lerner tells her colleague that she overheard some women say America was bankrupt and "going down the tubes."
"Well, you should hear the whacko wing of the GOP," replied her
colleague, whose name is blacked out. "The US is through; too many
foreigners sucking the teat; time to hunker down, buy ammo and food, and
prepare for the end. The right wing radio shows are scary to listen
to."
Lerner replies: "Great. Maybe we are through if there are that many assholes."
Her colleague replies: "And I'm talking about the hosts of the shows. The callers are rabid."
Lerner: "So we don't need to worry about alien teRrorists. It's our own crazies that will take us down."
Attorney Cleta Mitchell on IRS "Losing" Emails: This is All False, I Don't Believe It
Katie Pavlich | Jun 18, 2014
Last week the IRS announced they have "lost" emails belonging to
former head of tax exempt organizations Lois Lerner dated between
January 2009 and April 2011. Conveniently, the agency still has emails
Lerner sent to other IRS employees but cannot locate emails she sent to
the White House, Democratic members of Congress, the Treasury
Department, FEC, Department of Justice and other outside groups.
As if that claim wasn't bogus enough, the IRS announced yesterday that
it cannot find emails belonging to six high ranking IRS officials,
including former Acting Commissioner Chief of Staff Nikole Flax.
Last night attorney Cleta Mitchell, who is representing groups like
True the Vote in a lawsuit against the IRS, went on The Kelly File to
address IRS claims of "lost emails." Mitchell said she doesn't believe
the emails are "lost" and pointed out the double standard between how
IRS officials behave and what they expect from private taxpayers and
groups when it comes to keeping documentation.
"I think this is a scandal in and of itself. It is absolutely not credible," Mitchell said. "I absolutely do not believe it."
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will testify next week in front of the House Oversight Committee about the "lost" emails.
Text
It’s
not just Lois Lerner’s e-mails. The Internal Revenue Service says it
can’t produce e-mails from six more employees involved in the targeting
of conservative groups, according to two Republicans investigating the
scandal.
The
IRS told Ways and Means chairman Dave Camp and subcommittee chairman
Charles Boustany that computer crashes resulted in additional lost
e-mails, including from Nikole Flax, the chief of staff to former IRS
commissioner Steven Miller, who was fired in the wake of the targeting
scandal.
The
revelation about Lerner’s e-mails rekindled the scandal and today’s
news has further inflamed Republicans. Camp and Boustany are now
demanding a special prosecutor to investigate “every angle” of the
targeting. They expressed particular outrage that the agency has known
since February that it would not be able to produce the e-mails
requested by the committee yet did not apprise the committee of that
fact, and they charged in a statement that the IRS is attempting to
“cover up the fact that it convenient lost key documents in the
investigation.”
If
Lerner is the central figure in the scandal — Oversight Committee
chairman Darrell Issa said Monday evening he believes she was the
senior-most official involved — Flax may be an important auxiliary
figure. E-mails produced in response to a Freedom of Information Act
request from the group Judicial Watch show
Flax giving the green light to Lerner’s request to meet with Department
of Justice officials to explore the possibility of criminally
prosecuting nonprofit groups — at the suggestion of Democratic senator
Sheldon Whitehouse — for engaging in political activity after declaring
on their application for nonprofit status that they had no plans to do
so.
E-mails uncovered by the committee last week showed
that, in preparation for her meeting with the Department of Justice,
Lerner and one of her advisers transmitted 1.1 million pages of data on
nonprofit groups, including confidential taxpayer information, to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, potentially in violation of federal
law.
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