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Paul L. Caron
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Monday, April 6, 2015

The IRS Scandal, Day 697

IRS Logo 2Legal Insurrection, Judge Orders IRS to Release Tea Party Target List:

If Bush had done this to liberals, people would be in jail by now.

The Department of Justice may have let Lois Lerner off the hook, but a judge has ordered the IRS to release the names of the Tea Party groups that were singled out for scrutiny. ..

I still enjoy wondering how different this would be if it happened on Bush’s watch. Do you think the media might be more interested?

Hot Air, Judge Orders IRS to Release List of Targeted Conservative Nonprofit Groups:

Lois Lerner didn’t care to speak when she was invited for tea before congressional committees, and it turns out that no charges will be filed against her over her shyness. But that may not be the end of the story for the IRS scandal. A judge in Ohio has consented to a request filed by representatives of several Tea Party groups which calls for the IRS to turn over the full list of conservative groups selected for extra special scrutiny when they filed for nonprofit status. ...

There are several layers to this particular onion. The White House fought back from day one against any such disclosures, saying that releasing the requested information would require exposing private data which the IRS is forbidden to reveal. But that’s only intended to protect individuals, businesses and groups from having all the particulars about their internal business exposed, not the simple fact that they exist and pay taxes. In this suit, rather than asking for all of the numbers, the IRS is simply being asked to provide a spreadsheet containing the identities of the groups under scrutiny. The judge agreed that the case couldn’t be decided without that bare minimum data.

More interesting are the possibilities which follow if the data finally comes to light. If the groups can establish that they all fall under the same umbrella of potential discrimination, they can be bound together in a class action suit. This opens up a range of possibilities, including the hope that the secretive agency will be forced to expose their practices to the public.

Exit question: The Feds are, at this point, refusing to go after Lerner. If this suit succeeds and all of the internal workings of the system are brought to light, including how they selected the groups singled out for “special attention” in the application process, is there another bite at the apple in the offing? Could Lerner wind up back before Congress? And if so, will she just plead the 5th again?

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Comments

If this had been done under a Republican the Sunday Talk shows would be full of panels of people stroking their chins pontificating about what did the President know and when did he know it. The moderators would assume the tone of being deeply troubled about what this meant for the Constitution...and how could a bureaucracy have come to be weaponized. The New York Times and Washington Post would have full time reporters interviewing IRS employees in Cincinnati and Washington. Sixty Minutes would be camped out on Lois Lerner's doorstep. The double standard of the MSM is nothing short of jaw-dropping, amazing.

Posted by: VoteOutIncumbents | Apr 6, 2015 9:38:49 AM

Obama is using his victims as human shields and victimizing them all over again. Meanwhile, useful idiot Democrats cheer him on. It is no wonder Democrats idolize Mao, Che, and Castro. And not that shocking that Obama frequently complains about not being a dictator.

Well, Obama, you are doing you best impersonation.

All of this just to prevent non-Democrats from organizing like Democrats do. Try and tell me this is fair while Democrat nonprofits get government money to engage in politics while non-Democrats weren't even allowed to associate without punishment.

Posted by: wodun | Apr 6, 2015 9:22:59 AM

For Obama/Democrats, the Press is Liberal, Accomodationist and most often found, with Pom-poms in hand, shouting "Gimme an 'O'... "

A "Free Press" is 'Free' because of a Constitional Amendment. It's intent was to allow a free press which would inform the voters so as to facilitate their judgement on election day.

It now protects blatant and intentional propaganda in the areas of economics, race, government (spending, and the rest) and social issues. It does so by focusing on a topic, editing of that topic or refusing to cover it at all.

A Press subservient to one political party's perspective and narrative instead of facts for voters to use at election time... is not free at all, it is subservient to Government by Liberals under Liberalism

Posted by: George Dixon | Apr 6, 2015 7:58:54 AM

The low level of understanding in this reporting is appalling, but explains some of the faux rage of the right-wing. Neither the WH nor the IRS fought disclosure of the list to the judge. The judge is authorized to see the list in order to decide the case. That said, it is doubtful that the judge actually needs the list to decide the case. The SCOTUS decided this particular legal issue almost 30 years ago in Church of Scientology v. IRS, 484 U.S. 9 (1987). The names of taxpayers who pay taxes, don’t pay taxes, who are under investigation, or who have applied for tax exempt recognition are confidential under IRC § 6103. That is why the IRS (and the WH, if you must) maintains that the list of 298 tax exempt applicants cannot be disclosed to the plaintiffs.

Posted by: Publius Novus | Apr 6, 2015 6:48:41 AM