Sunday, February 16, 2014
The IRS Scandal, Day 283
New York Post editorial: Calling Lois Lerner:
The American people still need to hear from Lois Lerner. That’s a point that can’t be made often enough.
Remember her? She’s the IRS official who gave a statement before Congress declaring herself innocent of any wrongdoing — and then promptly took the Fifth.
Recently, Congress unearthed another IRS e-mail on which she was copied, talking about taking “off-plan” a discussion about how to harass the 501(c)(4) groups the IRS had targeted. Meanwhile, leaks from officials involved in the investigation claim the FBI has not found anything criminal.
That’s an amazing finding, given the statement by the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents the IRS targets, that the FBI hadn’t interviewed a single of the center’s 41 clients. ...
[W]e hope Congress is making clear that whatever happens with the Justice investigations, the American people need to get Lois Lerner back on that stand to answer questions under oath.
- The IRS Scandal, Day 282 (Feb. 15, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 281 (Feb. 14, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 280 (Feb. 13, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 279 (Feb. 12, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 278 (Feb. 11, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 277 (Feb. 10, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 276 (Feb. 9, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 275 (Feb. 8, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 274 (Feb. 7, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 273 (Feb. 6, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 272 (Feb. 5, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 271 (Feb. 4, 3014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 270 (Feb. 3, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 269 (Feb. 2, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 268 (Feb. 1, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 267 (Jan. 31, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 266 (Jan. 30, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 265 (Jan. 29, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 264 (Jan. 28, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 263 (Jan. 27, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 262 (Jan. 26, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 261 (Jan. 25, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 260 (Jan. 24, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 259 (Jan. 23, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 258 (Jan. 22, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 257 (Jan. 21, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 256 (Jan. 20, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 255 (Jan. 19, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 254 (Jan. 18, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 253 (Jan. 17, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 252 (Jan. 16, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 251 (Jan. 15, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 250 (Jan. 14, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 249 (Jan. 13, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 248 (Jan. 12, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 247 (Jan. 11, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 246 (Jan. 10, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 245 (Jan. 9, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 244 (Jan. 8, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 243 (Jan. 7, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 242 (Jan. 6, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 241 (Jan. 5, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 240 (Jan. 4, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 239 (Jan. 3, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 238 (Jan. 2, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 237 (Jan. 1, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 236 (Dec. 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 235 (Dec. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 234 (Dec. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 233 (Dec. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 232 (Dec. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 231 (Dec. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 230 (Dec. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 229 (Dec. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 228 (Dec. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 227 (Dec. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 226 (Dec. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 225 (Dec. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 224 (Dec. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 223 (Dec. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 222 (Dec. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 221 (Dec. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 220 (Dec. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 219 (Dec. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 218 (Dec. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 217 (Dec. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 216 (Dec. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 215 (Dec. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 214 (Dec. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 213 (Dec. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 212 (Dec. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 211 (Dec. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 210 (Dec. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 209 (Dec. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 208 (Dec. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 207 (Dec. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 206 (Dec. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 205 (Nov. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 204 (Nov. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 203 (Nov. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 202 (Nov. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 201 (Nov. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 200 (Nov. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 199 (Nov. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 198 (Nov. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 197 (Nov. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 196 (Nov. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 195 (Nov. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 194 (Nov. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 193 (Nov. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 192 (Nov. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 191 (Nov. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 190 (Nov. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 189 (Nov. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 188 (Nov. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 187 (Nov. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 186 (Nov. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 185 (Nov. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 184 (Nov. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 183 (Nov. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 182 (Nov. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 181 (Nov. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 180 (Nov. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 179 (Nov. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 178 (Nov. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 177 (Nov. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 176 (Nov. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 175 (Oct. 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 174 (Oct. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 173 (Oct. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 172 (Oct. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 171 (Oct. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 170 (Oct. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 169 (Oct. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 168 (Oct. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 167 (Oct. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 166 (Oct. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 165 (Oct. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 164 (Oct. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 163 (Oct. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 162 (Oct. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 161 (Oct. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 160 (Oct. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 159 (Oct. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 158 (Oct. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 157 (Oct. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 156 (Oct. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 155 (Oct. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 154 (Oct. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 153 (Oct. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 152 (Oct. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 151 (Oct. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 150 (Oct. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 149 (Oct. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 148 (Oct. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 147 (Oct. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 146 (Oct. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 145 (Oct. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 144 (Sept. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 143 (Sept. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 142 (Sept. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 141 (Sept. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 140 (Sept. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 139 (Sept. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 138 (Sept. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 137 (Sept. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 136 (Sept. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 135 (Sept. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 133 (Sept. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 134 (Sept. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 132 (Sept. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 131 (Sept. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 130 (Sept. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 129 (Sept. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 128 (Sept. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 127 (Sept. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 126 (Sept. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 125 (Sept. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 124 (Sept. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 123 (Sept. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 122 (Sept. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 121 (Sept. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 120 (Sept. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 119 (Sept. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 118 (Sept. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 117 (Sept. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 116 (Sept. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 115 (Sept. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 114 (Aug. 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 113 (Aug. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 112 (Aug. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 111 (Aug. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 110 (Aug. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 109 (Aug. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 108 (Aug. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 107 (Aug. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 106 (Aug. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 105 (Aug. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 104 (Aug. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 103 (Aug. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 102 (Aug. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 101 (Aug. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 100 (Aug. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 99 (Aug. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 98 (Aug. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 97 (Aug. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 96 (Aug. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 95 (Aug. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 94 (Aug. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 93 (Aug. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 92 (Aug. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 91 (Aug. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 90 (Aug. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 89 (Aug. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 88 (Aug. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 87 (Aug. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 86 (Aug. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 85 (Aug. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 84 (Aug. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 83 (July 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 82 (July 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 81 (July 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 80 (July 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 79 (July 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 78 (July 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 77 (July 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 76 (July 24, 2013)
- Attorney in Federal Agency General Counsel's Office: There Is 'No Innocent Explanation' for IRS Chief Counsel's Meeting With Obama (July 23, 2013)
- A Cincinnati IRS Lawyer Speaks: We Are Democrats, But Nonpartisan Democrats (July 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 75 (July 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 74 (July 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 73 (July 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 72 (July 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 71 (July 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 70 (July 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 69 (July 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 68 (July 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 67 (July 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 66 (July 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 65 (July 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 64 (July 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 63 (July 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 62 (July 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 61 (July 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 60 (July 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 59 (July 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 58 (July 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 57 (July 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 56 (July 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 55 (July 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 54 (July 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 53 (July 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 52 (June 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 51 (June 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 50 (June 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 49 (June 27, 2013)
- House Report: IRS Deputy IT Director Steered $500 Million in Contracts to Pal (June 26, 2013)
- TIGTA: IRS Credit Cards Used for Wine, Porn, $100 Lunches, $140 Dinners (June 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 48 (June 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 47 (June 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 46 (June 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 45 (June 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 44 (June 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 43 (June 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 42 (June 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 41 (June 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 40 (June 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 39 (June 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 38 (June 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 37 (June 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 36 (June 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 35 (June 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 34 (June 12, 2013)
- The Problem Is Not Just IRS Lawyers; The Problem Is All Federal Government Lawyers (June 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 33 (June 11, 2013)
- The Complete IRS Video Collection (June 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 32 (June 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 31 (June 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 30 (June 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 29 (June 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 28 (June 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 27 (June 5, 2013)
- Jon Stewart on the IRS Scandal (June 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 26 (June 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 25 (June 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 24 (June 2, 2013)
- 'Cupid Shuffle' Dance Training Video Adds to IRS Woes (June 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 23 (June 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 22 (May 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 21 (May 30, 2013)
- The Impact of the IRS Scandal on Tax Reform (May 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 20 (May 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 19 (May 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 18 (May 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 17 (May 26, 2013)
- Jason Jones on the IRS Scandal (May 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 16 (May 25, 2013)
- Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert on the IRS Scandal (May 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 15 (May 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 14 (May 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 13 (May 22, 2013)
- Steven Colbert on the IRS Scandal (May 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 12 (May 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal: Really?! (May 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 11 (May 20, 2013)
- SNL on the IRS Scandal (May 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 10 (May 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 9 (May 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 8 (May 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 7 (May 16, 2013)
- Phillip Hackney, The TIGTA Report on the IRS Scandal: Be on the Lookout for False Partisan Witchunts (May 15, 2013)
- Ellen Aprill, The TIGTA Report on the IRS Scandal: Questions About the IRS and About the Report (May 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 6 (May 15, 2013)
- Inspector General: Ineffective IRS Management Allowed Agents to Target Conservative Groups (May 14, 2013)
- Jon Stewart and Vic Fleischer on the IRS Scandal (May 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 5 (May 14, 2013)
- The Deepening IRS Scandal (May 13, 2013)
- Schmalbeck on the IRS 'Targeting' of Conservative Groups (May 12, 2013)
- WaPo and WSJ Agree: IRS Targeting of Conservatives Is Appalling (May 11, 2013)
- IRS Admits to Targeting Conservative Groups in 2012 Election (May 10, 2013)
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2014/02/the-irs-scandal-13.html
Comments
I will try to answer again.
Here are the key points from the earlier posting (as best I remember them):
1. Please don't hide behind anonymity. You have something to say; you should not be ashamed to identify yourself. Are you Darrell Issa?
2. Here is the email. Readers can determine for themselves what it says:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/uploadedfiles/offplan.pdf
3. All of the substantive comment except the opening paragraph is not Ms. Madrigal's words. Rather it is a cut and paste of comments made on an independent law prof blog. Many have attributed those words to Ms. Madrigal not knowing that it was just a cut and paste of a third party's comments.
4. So, let's focus on the first paragraph since those are her words. Here are those words.
Don’t know who in your organizations is keeping tabs on c4s, but since we mentioned potentially addressing them (off-plan) in 2013, I’ve got my radar up and this seemed interesting…
5. Now the conspiracy theorists (apparently including you) focus on the works "off-plan." (Keeping tabs is not a problem, because the IRS is supposed to keep tabs on exempt organizations of all stripes.) Now, the conspiracy theorists read "off-plan" as an indication of secret, nefarious activity. Everyone in today's world knows that, if indeed you want to conduct secret nefarious activity, you don't do it in organization emails. Those emails are the easiest thing to discover, so I doubt that Ms. Madrigal would have used that communication vehicle for such activity.
6. So what do her words "off-plan" mean? I don't know. You give no indication that you know either. Without more, I don't think "off-plan" can be fairly read on its own within the context of the email as meaning that she and the recipients were doing something secret and nefarious. It may just mean that they are considering something that is not on the IRS formal business plan. Various components of the IRS and Treasury (and, I suspect, every agency) do that all the time within their respective areas of responsibility.
7. Moreover, "off-plan" -- whatever it means -- does not mean that Obama had any knowledge of or approved in any way what Ms. Madrigal and the recipients of the email were doing. There is no indication that whatever they were doing was instigated, known to, imagined, or approved by the White House or by Obama.
8. The only way the email can constitute proof of anything that you claim is by assuming facts not in existence (or at least not in the email which is the only proof of scandal that you cite). I doubt that this will be impressive to you because you do assume / imagine the key facts that support your narrative. I assume nothing. I want proof. You have not offered it.
I have a longer more polished answer yesterday, but did not keep a copy. But this is the guts of it.
Jack Townsend
Posted by: Jack Townsend | Feb 18, 2014 8:17:59 AM
Oh, and one other point, please provide your name rather than hiding behind anonymity.
Jack Townsend
Posted by: Jack Townsend | Feb 18, 2014 7:51:49 AM
Still waiting, Mr. Townsend.
Just to refresh your memory, the June 2012 email was sent by Ms. Madrigal, counsel in the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy, to, inter alia, Lois Lerner, that a recent Court of Appeals case might undermine some of the 501(c)(4) activity. Coincidence in an election year filled with 501(c)(4) "Tea Party" applications? Surely not.
Posted by: TexEcon | Feb 17, 2014 8:34:20 PM
Mr. Townsend,
Please explain Ruth Madrigal's email of June 2012 in the context of how this is not a scandal.
Posted by: TexEcon | Feb 16, 2014 6:44:01 PM
Actually, getting Lois Lerner's testimony under oath is easy. Darrell Issa and his minions know exactly how to do that. Give her immunity so that they can work their way up the imagined chain to Obama. Giving her immunity will not be a big deal if they can really get to Obama. But, what Darrell Issa and his minions know is that the trail does not lead to Obama, hence they are better off by just insinuating that it could get to Obama rather than granting the immunity that would show the truth or falsity of the insinuation.
Now, my question for the tea party readers of this daily aggregation of tea party news, if you say it is a scandal long enough, will that make it a scandal? When Tax Prof Blog hits "The IRS Scandal, Day 1000" will it then be a scandal? Remember this apt saying by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin:
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”
That is the only hope for this "scandal," since the facts are not consistent with the claims.
Jack Townsend
Posted by: Jack Townsend | Feb 16, 2014 3:27:12 PM
Dear Mr. Townsend,
I write anonymously because I am not a sycophant of the current Administration. Perhaps you have not heard of Frank Van der Sloot and Catherine Englebrecht. And I have my clients to worry about, too.
Most of your rebuttal addresses the phrase “off-plan” in the email and you pretend to not know what it means. I think that is not quite credible given your time in the Justice Department and many years as a tax lawyer. It is common knowledge among my circle of tax lawyers that Treasury and IRS publish twice a year an agenda of projects they want to accomplish. It generally includes regulation projects but also other matters. It never completes everything on this agenda and does take up things not on this plan. I do not find the use of the term “off-plan” to indicate something hidden or secret but rather something not on the planned schedule of projects for the year. It is nevertheless significant because it shows that IRS and Treasury had time to pick up a project they had not planned for – and this during an election year in which the subject was groups involved in political activity.
No, it is not the proverbial “smoking gun” but it shows that a person at a policy-making level in the Treasury Department brought to the attention of Lois Lerner and her cohorts another tool to use to attack political activity. By your familiarity with the administrative processes within the tax administration parts of our Government, you are surely aware that case law developments would come from the Office of Chief Counsel, not the Treasury Department. The question for Ms. Madrigal is why she was communicating such information directly to IRS administrators and not going through Chief Counsel. If you knew about Ms. Madrigal’s background you would know why this raises questions.
To respond to your claim that this email does not implicate Obama directly misses the point. The point of our complaint is that the IRS is being used for political purposes. Whether it comes from the highest parts of the Administration or from within the IRS and Treasury sua sponte does not matter. Both are wrong.
The sad thing about your response is that you do not seem to care what this episode has done to the reputation of the IRS and fair tax administration in the United States. Your concern is that we cannot tie this directly to Obama. I myself do not care whether Obama knew directly or not, the point is that the IRS should not be used for political purposes. People who try to explain away every improper action or omission are themselves perpetuating the “big lie” you threw out in your argument ad hominem the other day.
Posted by: TexEcon | Feb 19, 2014 7:19:39 AM