Following up on my prior posts (links below): Fox News: It’s Time to Investigate the IRS:
Richard Nixon ordered the IRS to conduct tax audits of those on his infamous “Enemies List.” Now, a spate of investigations and leaks coming out of President Obama’s IRS raises concerns that this administration may also be using the power of the nation’s most feared agency to silence its political opponents.
Today, more than six dozen grassroots citizens groups seeking to gain 501(c)(4) — and in some cases 501(c)(3) — tax status today find themselves facing unexpectedly invasive investigations and onerous procedural hurdles. All these groups have received non-profit recognition at the state level. Yet their requests for IRS recognition have been left in bureaucratic limbo for months — in some cases, for more than two years. …
In a separate instance of bureaucratic malfeasance, it appears that some within today’s IRS are even willing to break federal law to publicly disclose the private donor information of conservative non-profits.
Somehow, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a gay advocacy group, got its hands on Schedule B of the tax return filed by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) — a conservative values organization that has sparred with the administration and liberal groups over homosexual marriage. The HRC — soon followed by scores of left-leaning publications, magazines, and blogs like the Huffington Post and Mother Jones — published the confidential document that revealed the names, contact information, and donation amounts of anyone who had given over $5,000 to NOM.
NOM has called for immediate investigations by the Justice Department and the Treasury Department’s Inspector General to determine how HRC gained possession of this document. …
The IG and the DOJ need to undertake their investigations with utmost seriousness, swiftness and impartiality. And they should bring criminal indictments against anyone inside or outside of the IRS found to be responsible for these abuses of federal tax power. This kind of behavior is simply unacceptable, for it threatens the liberty and freedom of Americans who want to participate in the political process.
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- Senate Candidate Calls for Investigation of IRS ‘Assault’ on Tea Party (Feb. 24, 2012)
- IRS May Out Donors to Tea Party, Other 501(c)(4) Groups (Mar. 9, 2012)
- NY Times Backs IRS Efforts to Out Donors to Tea Party, Other 501(c)(4) Groups (Mar. 10, 2012)
- Why Is The IRS Asking Tea Party Groups If They Know Me? (Mar. 16, 2012)
- More on IRS, Tea Party Groups, and § 501(c)(4) Tax-Exempt Status (Mar. 24, 2012)
- House Demands IRS Documents on Alleged Harassment of Tea Party Groups (Apr. 12, 2012)
- National Organization of Marriage Demands Investigation of IRS’s Leak of Mitt Romney’s Contribution (Apr. 13, 2012)
- Sen. Hatch Demands Investigation of IRS’s Leak of Mitt Romney’s Contribution to Pro-Marriage Group (May 11, 2012)
