The IRS Scandal, Day 826

Investor's Business Daily op-ed, Jailtime For IRS' Political Hacks:

Corruption: After a year's stalling by the IRS, the Senate Finance Committee has released its bipartisan report, denouncing the tax-collection agency's partisanship and incompetence. When are these people going to jail?

The Senate report wasn't entirely satisfactory, given that its criticism was primarily in the compromise language of "gross mismanagement" to describe the agency's targeting of Tea Party dissident groups.

Using legal technicalities to silence and repress political dissent under the color of the nation's most feared enforcement agency isn't mismanagement. It's a crime.

It's incompatible with democracy and it shatters public confidence in the rule of law. It's the very crime the State Department is now condemning in Venezuela: the use of legal technicalities to halt popular opposition candidates from running for office. Until now, this kind of activity has had no precedent in our country, and it must be stopped before it becomes the standard.

This is far from mere incompetence or gross mismanagement. It was a highly competent operation to silence dissent. Yet no one has been sanctioned or punished, despite there being laws on the books dating back to the beginning of a professional civil service, that forbid and punish partisan motives in what should be impartial law. Already some observers believe the IRS swung the last election for the Democrats with these activities.

Not only did the IRS target Tea Party groups with unconscionable delays and intrusive questions, it went for their families, too. Young Bristol Palin learned yesterday that just being the daughter of former Alaska Gov. and Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin put her in the IRS' sights. Sarah Palin's father was targeted, too.

The agency also obstructed justice, first falsely claiming that its illegal targeting was only the work of rogue agents in its Cincinnati office. Then, as that lie fell apart, IRS moved to destroy evidence in the thousands of missing emails on IRS tax exempt organizations chief Lois Lerner's computer. Conveniently for them, it was declared lost forever in a hard drive crash — until it wasn't.

Now it's relying on its allies in the Senate and among anti-Tea Party Democrats in the House for cover, having them declare it incompetence, not a crime.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 825 (Aug. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 824 (Aug. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 823 (Aug. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 822 (Aug. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 821 (Aug. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 820 (Aug. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 819 (Aug. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 818 (Aug. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 817 (Aug. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 816 (Aug. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 815 (Aug. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 814 (Aug. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 813 (July 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 812 (July 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 811 (July 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 810 (July 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 809 (July 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 808 (July 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 807 (July 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 806 (July 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 805 (July 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 804 (July 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 803 (July 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 802 (July 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 801 (July 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 701-800 (April 10, 2015 - July 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 601-700 (Dec. 31, 2014 - April 9, 2015)
• 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)