Sunday, October 25, 2015
The IRS Scandal, Day 899
Investor's Business Daily editorial, IRS' Lois Lerner Skates; An Ugly Precedent Is Set:
The Justice Department declined to file charges against IRS enforcer Lois Lerner, who singled out Tea Party groups for scrutiny on political grounds. With no accountability, it's now open season on dissidents. ...
That's the message the Justice Department sent when, in a classic Friday night news dump, it decided to not file charges against IRS tax-exempt groups chief Lois Lerner. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Justice said that while it found "mismanagement, poor judgment and inertia," there was no case for a criminal prosecution.
This is absurd. Lerner was caught red-handed targeting Tea Party and other conservative groups, wrote partisan emails to prove it, then engaged in a massive cover-up effort — with a suspiciously crashed server, an oddly missing BlackBerry and plenty of excuses.
She evaded even more accountability by shielding herself with the Fifth Amendment in Congress. The consequences to her have been . .. retirement on a full pension with all her bonuses to a multimillion-dollar mansion in the deep D.C. suburbs.
As for her victims — and they were many — there is no justice. Now everyone, no matter what their political leanings, will wonder if they too are a political target by an out-of-control agency protected by the Justice Department.
Because that's the real consequence of this failure to hold Lerner accountable: A precedent has been set.
IRS officials now know they can go after any political opponent they want, ruin them any way they wish, swing an election — as occurred with Lerner's actions — and get away with it. ...
The Democrats may giggle with glee at seeing another of their own skate free based on the president's executive actions through his DOJ flunkies.
But two can play that game. If a Republican as unscrupulous as Obama wins the election, the same banana republic politics in government will make Democrats the next victims.
- The IRS Scandal, Day 898 (Oct. 24, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 897 (Oct. 23, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 896 (Oct. 22, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 895 (Oct. 21, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 894 (Oct. 20, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 893 (Oct. 19, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 892 (Oct. 18, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 891 (Oct. 17, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 890 (Oct. 16, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 889 (Oct. 15, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 888 (Oct. 14, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 887 (Oct. 13, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 886 (Oct. 12, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 885 (Oct. 11, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 884 (Oct. 10, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 883 (Oct. 9, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 882 (Oct. 8, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 881 (Oct. 7, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 880 (Oct. 6, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 879 (Oct. 5, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 878 (Oct. 4, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 877 (Oct. 3, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 876 (Oct. 2, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 875 (Oct. 1, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 874 (Sept. 30, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 873 (Sept. 29, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 872 (Sept. 28, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 871 (Sept. 27, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 870 (Sept. 26, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 869 (Sept. 25, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 868 (Sept. 24, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 867 (Sept. 23, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 866 (Sept. 22, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 865 (Sept. 21, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 864 (Sept. 20, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 863 (Sept. 19, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 862 (Sept. 18, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 861 (Sept. 17, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 860 (Sept. 16, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 859 (Sept. 15, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 858 (Sept. 14, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 857 (Sept. 13, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 856 (Sept. 12, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 855 (Sept. 11, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 854 (Sept. 10, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 853 (Sept. 9, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 852 (Sept. 8, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 851 (Sept. 7, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 850 (Sept. 6, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 849 (Sept. 5, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 848 (Sept. 4, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 847 (Sept. 3, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 846 (Sept. 2, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 845 (Sept. 1, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 844 (Aug. 31, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 843 (Aug. 30, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 842 (Aug. 29, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 841 (Aug. 28, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 840 (Aug. 27, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 839 (Aug. 26, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 838 (Aug. 25, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 837 (Aug. 24, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 836 (Aug. 23, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 835 (Aug. 22, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 834 (Aug. 21, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 833 (Aug. 20, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 832 (Aug. 19, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 831 (Aug. 18, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 830 (Aug. 17, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 829 (Aug. 16, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 828 (Aug. 15, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 827 (Aug. 14, 2015)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 826 (Aug. 13, 2015)
- 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)
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2015/10/the-irs-scandal-day-899.html
Comments
The really frightening thing is talking to recent IRS retirees who say the problem is much worse than anybody imagines. Unfortunately, they had to sign 3-year non-disclosure agreements and cannot share their experiences with the public.
Posted by: Dale Spradling | Oct 26, 2015 7:45:35 AM
To the contrary, targeting a person or group because of their viewpoint under color of law to deprive them of rights is a criminal offense, as pointed out in the Assistant Attorney General's letter to the House Judiciary Committee. The problem, as AAG put it, was that they could not find evidence sufficient to overcome the reasonable doubt standard.
The trouble is the investigation itself. IRS employees are represented by a union so you can imagine the position it took and so advised its members. Further, we don't know how hard they pressed on what seemed smoking guns to everyone else – a second, non-government email account to conduct official business, a missing blackberry, the missing hard drive, then the apparent coordination between Lerner and the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (in its drive to criminalize opposition political activity). Maybe the next administration will revisit the investigation (much as the Obama Administration did in re-investigating the CIA interrogation program after 9-11).
The most frightening thing about this whole affair is the people who try to trivialize its importance, from Ranking Member Cummings on the House Oversight Committee to people who comment on blogs. They just don’t see the damage an attitude like this – that it is permissible to abuse due process, the rule of law, and fundamental fairness as long as it is your side doing it - is doing to our system of government.
These are dangerous times.
Posted by: TexEcon | Oct 25, 2015 11:27:56 PM
IBD's author is deluded: Two cannot play this game.
Career government employees will blow the whistle immediately and enthusiastically on any right-wing excesses. Left-wing excesses are rationalized as necessary evils for the greater good, which just happens to coincide with greater government employment.
Posted by: AMT buff | Oct 25, 2015 7:26:20 PM
While we may all agree that Lerner is a cowardly and odious character, there is no evidence that she violated criminal law. "Targeting," even if proven, is not criminal. Nor is writing partisan emails or denigrating Lincoln's presidency. And BTW, DOJ released the news Friday morning, not in "a classic, Friday night news dump."
Posted by: Publius Novus | Oct 25, 2015 12:19:44 PM
Mr. TexEcon: Actually, DOJ did not find "insufficient" evidence to file charges. They found NO evidence.
Mr. Spradling: Someone is pulling your chain. Federal employees do not sign non-disclosure agreements when they retire from the IRS. Retirement is statutory; non-disclosure under sec. 6103 is statutory. Retirement is not and cannot be made contingent upon non-statutory terms.
Posted by: Publius Novus | Oct 27, 2015 7:37:46 AM