The IRS Scandal, Day 663

Wall Street Journal, Best of the Web, by James Taranto:

Still Suppressing Speech
The IRS scandal continues: “Nearly two years after the IRS was exposed for improperly sidetracking requests for tax exemptions from tea party groups, Politico has learned that at least a half-dozen conservative applicants are still waiting for an answer.”

One of them is Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, which managed to spend tens of millions last year. But most “are mom-and-pop outfits from New Mexico to New Jersey, run by volunteers out of their own houses and operating at a fraction of Crossroads’ budget”:

The years-long delay has gutted these groups’ membership, choked their ability to raise funds, forced them to reserve pots of money for possible back taxes and driven them into debt to pay legal bills.

IRS’ website says it has closed 95 percent of “priority” groups that had been pulled for extra scrutiny.

The agency said it cannot comment on specific cases, but it deflected blame, in part, to the Justice Department. When an applicant is suing the IRS, Justice also has a say in whether to issue a final ruling during litigation. Almost all the groups in limbo have taken the IRS to court.

The IRS reports that in May 2013, when the scandal broke, the IRS “released a list of 176 political nonprofits it said it had approved already, many of them groups it once labeled ‘inflammatory,’ ‘anti-Obama’ and engaging in ‘propaganda.’ ”

Those that were still on hold were offered “immediate approval if they pledged to spend less than 40 percent of their time and resources on political campaigns”—a lower threshold than the usual 51%. “Several of the groups dismissed that option on principle, calling it unfair because it was a stricter standard than other 501(c)(4)s had to abide by.”

So the IRS admittedly denied tax-exempt status improperly to at least 176 groups, tried to apply extralegal restrictions to others, and is still delaying approval for those groups that have gone to court in an effort to vindicate their rights. It’s been over a year since President Obama himself said, in answer to a question from Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly, that there was “not even a smidgen of corruption.” Maybe it’s time somebody put the question to him again.

• Daily Caller, Department of Justice Shut Down Search For Lois Lerner’s Emails
• Daily Caller, The Blind Leading The Find: Lois Lerner’s Hard Drive Was Searched By Legally Blind IRS Employee
• Fiscal Times, 32,774 'Found' IRS Emails Prompt Criminal Probe
• Forbes, Lois Lerner Out From Under Freedom Path Lawsuit For Now
• Forbes, TIGTA On Lerner Emails: Potential Criminal Activity
• News Max, Affidavit: First IRS Tech to Inspect Lois Lerner Hard Drive Was Blind
• Nonprofit Quarterly, Missing Lerner Emails May Lead to Criminal Charges for Former IRS Chief
• One News Now,  Legal-Courts ACLJ, Already After IRS, Wants Prosecutor After Email Disclosal
• Real Clear Politics, Inspector General's Office Admits IRS Withheld Hundreds Of Tapes, Documents From Investigators
• Renew America, IRS Under Criminal Investigation for Politically Motivated Coverup
• Tribune Review, The IRS Scandal: A Coverup Grows

• The IRS Scandal, Day 662 (Mar. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 661 (Mar. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 660 (Feb. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 659 (Feb. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 658 (Feb. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 657 (Feb. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 656 (Feb. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 655 (Feb. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 654 (Feb. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 653 (Feb. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 652 (Feb. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 651 (Feb. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 650 (Feb. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 649 (Feb. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 648 (Feb. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 647 (Feb. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 646 (Feb. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 645 (Feb. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 644 (Feb. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 643 (Feb. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 642 (Feb. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 641 (Feb. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 640 (Feb. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 639 (Feb. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 638 (Feb. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 637 (Feb. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 636 (Feb. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 635 (Feb. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 634 (Feb. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 633 (Feb. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 632 (Jan. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 631 (Jan. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 630 (Jan. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 629 (Jan. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 628 (Jan. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 627 (Jan. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 626 (Jan. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 625 (Jan. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 624 (Jan. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 623 (Jan. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 622 (Jan. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 621 (Jan. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 620 (Jan. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 619 (Jan. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 618 (Jan. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 617 (Jan. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 616 (Jan. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 615 (Jan. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 614 (Jan. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 613 (Jan. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 612 (Jan. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 611 (Jan. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 610 (Jan. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 609 (Jan. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 608 (Jan. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 607 (Jan. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 606 (Jan. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 605 (Jan. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 604 (Jan. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 603 (Jan. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 602 (Jan. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 601 (Dec. 31, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)