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Paul L. Caron
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Monday, July 14, 2014

The IRS Scandal, Day 431

IRS Logo 2National Review:  The ‘Independent’ Counsel Mirage: Don’t Hand the IRS Investigation Over to a Special Prosecutor, by Andrew C. McCarthy:

I confess to being amazed that President Obama and his trusty attorney general, Eric Holder, have not mollified their detractors by appointing an “independent counsel” to investigate the IRS scandal.

“Why,” you ask, “would Obama sic a prosecutor with independence from Holder’s Justice Department on a component of the Obama administration?” The real question is: Why hasn’t he?

The disconnect here lies in the public’s perception — and, perhaps, the perception of some congressional Republicans who ought to know better — of what an “independent counsel” really is. Independence is a mirage: Obama’s critics crave an evenhanded investigation of executive lawlessness and, in the Washington fashion, they have convinced themselves that wishing can make it so. As it actually exists, however, an “independent counsel” would be tailor-made for letting the administration and the IRS dodge accountability. ...

You can have political accountability for abuses of power or you can have an “independent” counsel and “the process.” Political accountability is driven by congressional investigations and court cases brought by citizens whose rights have been trampled. It is messy, combative, and political, but the malfeasance it uncovers can result in the removal of corrupt officials from power.

By contrast, “the process,” under the steady hand of “independent” counsels, is neat, silent, and somnolent. In fact, once it starts, that may be the last you hear about it until President Obama pardons everyone on his way out the door.

Time:  After “Tea Party” Scandal, IRS to Rubber Stamp Tax-Exempt Status for Most Charities:

Amid ongoing controversy over its scrutiny of non-profits, the Internal Revenue Service has decided it will no longer screen approximately 80% of the organizations seeking tax-exempt charitable status each year, a change that will ease the creation of small charities while doing away with a review intended to counter fraud and prevent political and other non-charitable groups from misusing the tax code.

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2014/07/the-irs-scandal-5.html

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Comments

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Posted by: tim in vermont | Jul 14, 2014 11:29:27 AM