IRS And DOJ Sought To Criminally Prosecute Targeted Conservative Groups
[guest post by Dana]
We are learning that not only did Obama’s IRS target conservative groups, it also had a rather cozy relationship with the DOJ and FBI as the agencies worked together to bring criminal charges against the select groups. (Remember, it was Lois Lerner who emailed DOJ officials back in 2013, saying, “One IRS prosecution would make an impact and they wouldn’t feel so comfortable doing the stuff.”)
From Judicial Watch:
Judicial Watch today released new Department of Justice (DOJ) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents that include an official “DOJ Recap” report detailing an October 2010 meeting between Lois Lerner, DOJ officials and the FBI to plan for the possible criminal prosecution of targeted nonprofit organizations for alleged illegal political activity.
The newly obtained records also reveal that the Obama DOJ wanted IRS employees who were going to testify to Congress to turn over documents to the DOJ before giving them to Congress. Records also detail how the Obama IRS gave the FBI 21 computer disks, containing 1.25 million pages of confidential IRS returns from 113,000 nonprofit social 501(c)(4) welfare groups – or nearly every 501(c)(4) in the United States – as part of its prosecution effort. According to a letter from then-House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, “This revelation likely means that the IRS – including possibly Lois Lerner – violated federal tax law by transmitting this information to the Justice Department.”
The report also notes that Lois Lerner was actually meeting personally with DOJ officials about how to proceed with criminal charges.
Also, remember the president’s “outrage” when this story first broke?:
“If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that’s outrageous. And there’s no place for it,” Obama told reporters.
“And they have to be held fully accountable. Because the IRS as an independent agency requires absolute integrity, and people have to have confidence that they’re … applying the laws in a nonpartisan way.”
Most certainly, President Obama will once again be outraged and immediately task the FBI and DOJ to conduct a thorough investigation of… the FBI, DOJ, and IRS.
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (86e864) — 7/8/2015 @ 4:49 pmciao
mg (31009b) — 7/8/2015 @ 4:56 pmI loathe them all.
JD (3b5483) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:00 pmMost. Lawless. President. Ever.
navyvet (c33501) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:03 pmMaybe get Holder’s new firm to handle the investigation?
Gazzer (ee3742) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:11 pmI haven’t seen this reported on ABC, NBC, or CBS, nor in the NYT or Wapo. Of course with so much important coverage given to latest companies dumping Trump, how could there be room for such an insignificant matter?
Dana (86e864) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:33 pmObola is on a roll. Forty (45) years ago, say Nixon’s time, if an FBI agent asked me a question, I would have answered immediately and done all I could to help the fellow. Today, I wouldn’t say anything other than “I will consult with my lawyer, and perhaps we can have this conversation at some later date.” No “Hello”, no “Would you like a cup of coffee”, or if I knew the guy, “How are the kids?” No, we now know that the Feds are occupying troops, and their allegiance is to the PUS, not the Constitution, nor to their fellow citizens. They are seen to be a scourge. Obola has been successful beyond his expectations.
It is now clear that with Holder’s tutelage, and perhaps following their progressive indoctrination, pretty much the entire Federal bureaucracy has allowed itself to be suborned. And their treachery is all for a pension that will be paid in greenbacks that won’t even be worth the paper that supported fiat money just 30 years ago. You can’t light a fire with an electronic report of your account’s latest balance. It is beyond whimsical.
The prosecution of Senator Stevens, now deceased, with evidence that the four Federal prosecutors knew to be contradicted with evidence that they hid, was the opening salvo of this betrayal.
bobathome (f50725) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:34 pmJohn Koskinen is an uncommonly sleazy whore even by failmerican government standards
seriously I think the IRS will have a hard time replacing him
happyfeet (831175) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:48 pmThe prosecution of Senator Stevens, now deceased, with evidence that the four Federal prosecutors knew to be contradicted with evidence that they hid, was the opening salvo of this betrayal.
mg (31009b) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:51 pmI agree, bobathome.
Not a smidgen of corruption.
Dejectedhead (5ce477) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:52 pmAll you can do is keep your head down and hope not to be noticed.
Let’s say you sue the IRS. It doesn’t go to court. It goes to tax court. You don’t get a judge, you get a tax judge. You can appeal it to a real court, or take it to a real court–if you pay the taxes in full first.
But that’s been true for a long time. Nowadays they don’t care about the result. They make the process the punishment. They leak your donor list and they put you under a sealed indictment to dry up your money and keep you from even talking about it.
Gabriel Hanna (10a7c3) — 7/8/2015 @ 5:55 pmand so far ABC , NBC, CBS and FOX have given as much time to this story as it took me to type this sentence.
seeRpea (5d7dd6) — 7/8/2015 @ 6:22 pmone of the procurators in the Stevens case, was used in the trial of that rogue CIA leaker, Sterling, another was handling cases in Alabama
narciso (ee1f88) — 7/8/2015 @ 6:29 pmThe quickest and most effective way to end the IRS’s persecution of American citizens seeking to exercise their Constitutional rights (and to send an unambiguous message to the other high-handed federal employees) is to abolish the criminal agency by instituting a national sales tax collected at the level. No more income taxes, no more Lois Lerners.
ropelight (7c14cf) — 7/8/2015 @ 6:31 pm#13: narcisco, onward and upward!!
The other two are probably meddling in the JAG to make sure they got the message …
It would be helpful if decent people would turn away from them and their families (parents if children haven’t been spawned) as though they had the plague. Camus had much to say to us in our present circumstances. It will take courage.
bobathome (f50725) — 7/8/2015 @ 6:35 pmif an FBI agent asked me a question, I would have answered immediately and done all I could to help the fellow. Today, I wouldn’t say anything other than “I will consult with my lawyer…
That pretty much sums up my sentiments, but the disdain goes double or triple for other government entities like the IRS, etc.
Moreover, since the left throughout the US coddles Islamicists like Nidal Hassan and has historically been skeptical of law enforcement, if liberals meet in the middle with a US miliary de-balled by liberalism run amok (or political correctness up the wazoo) or various, increasingly cynical and disgusted conservatives like me, I wonder if the reaction to another 9-11 in the future will be comparatively different (more “c’est la vie”) or strangely muted?
Mark (710c48) — 7/8/2015 @ 6:38 pm“In my view, this type of situation highlights the importance of the direction where we are headed.”
A comment for all seasons.
navyvet (c33501) — 7/8/2015 @ 8:30 pmJust a note: the statute of limitations on most federal employee job-related criminal charges is five years, so anything that happened in 2013 puts its perpetrators in jeopardy through the same date in 2018, well into the next Administration. And the exception for ongoing criminal conspiracies means the clock doesn’t start ticking until the last act furthering the conspiracy -so if this is part of a process begun in 2010, all those taking part back then are not off the hook.
No argument, but note that his predecessor through 2012, Doug Shulman, visited the White House at least 108 times during the final 18 months of his tenure, more than once a week.
Under oath before Congress, Shulman testified he could not remember the purpose of his visit, who he met with, or what was discussed – at any of those 108 visits. I detect a very unpleasant odor.
Estragon (ada867) — 7/8/2015 @ 11:02 pm“The quickest and most effective way to end the IRS’s persecution of American citizens seeking to exercise their Constitutional rights (and to send an unambiguous message to the other high-handed federal employees) is to abolish the criminal agency by instituting a national sales tax collected at the level. No more income taxes, no more Lois Lerners.”
Oh, please, God, no!
1) A National Sales Tax would need a National Sales Tax collection agency, so they change the name of the IRS, print a bunch of new forms, and carry on business as usual.
2) Almost certainly (say, the same odds as the sun coming up tomorrow), there would be a strong movement to keep the income tax “for a transition period” that would last roughly until the stars go out. Sop we would have BOTH.
3) Almost as certainly (say, the same odds as a punter in Las Vegas losing his shirt), any Sales Tax would shortly become a Value Added Tax. If you don’t know why that is a godawful idea, look it up.
4) I have run a few, very small, businesses (mostly hobbies that had the potential to earn some money, so I was playing safe) and done State sales taxes. They are at least as big a pain in the a$$ as income tax. The idea that a National Sates Tax would only be collected on ordinary retail transactions is a pipe dream. The Blob is hungry. To collect enough money to allow Senator Puff and Congressman Blow to continue to spend our money like drunken sailors, any sales tax would have to be levied on ALL TRANSACTIONS, down the the yard sale level. and “Christ, who keeps track of that crap?” would not be an acceptable excuse. You want to have to keep records of EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN purchase you make, even for (for example) what you pay the teenage neighbor to cut your lawn? I know I don’t.
I really don’t understand the “A sales tax would be better” dream.
C. S. P. Schofield (a196fd) — 7/8/2015 @ 11:02 pmAt least they made bush pay taxes on the $100,000 dollars he got giving a speech to a charity that was supposedly helping wounded warriors that he helped get wounded!
shrubbery (8e17d3) — 7/8/2015 @ 11:32 pmI hope that there no conservatives that go to leftist sites and troll utter nonsense.
seeRpea (5d7dd6) — 7/8/2015 @ 11:44 pmhttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/07/icann-plan-to-end-website-anonymity-could-lead-to-swatting-attacks
Off topic but may be of interest to those who maintain blogs.
vor2 (99a329) — 7/9/2015 @ 3:16 amThere are no demented conservatives who want to waste their time, seeRpea.
Rev. Barack Hussein Hoagie (f4eb27) — 7/9/2015 @ 4:53 amOnly vote for a GOP Presidential candidate next year if the candidate promises (and does) appoint a Special Prosecutor for the IRS scandal. Might even promise one Special Prosecutor for each of the scandals. Call it the full lawyer employment President.
cedarhill (35549c) — 7/9/2015 @ 5:01 amcedarhill, are you suggesting if the GOP candidate fails to meet your criteria we vote for Hillary!?
Rev. Barack Hussein Hoagie (f4eb27) — 7/9/2015 @ 6:24 amOT, but speaking of legal corruption, even if your church can refuse to host a same sex wedding, that doesn’t mean they may not go broke in the process:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420928/churches-gay-marriage-insurance
from the article
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 7/9/2015 @ 6:47 amIndeed, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has declared that prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity “sometimes” apply to churches and has stated that a “church service open to the public” is not a “bona fide religious purpose” that would limit application of the law.
https://icrc.iowa.gov/sites/files/civil_rights/publications/2012/SOGIPublicAccom.pdf
Since when are church services NOT open to the public?? (A member’s only business meeting?)
Indeed, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission
The people running such self-appointed fiefdoms need to be placed in a “Thunderdome” type of setting with the Nidal Hassans of the world.
“Two men enter, one man leaves.”
Is it okay if I don’t root for either side?
Mark (710c48) — 7/9/2015 @ 6:59 amIF Congress were serious they’d be keel-hauling these lesser ranking officials who were active participants in these bad acts and subsequent coverup. Targeting the big guys makes for good political soundbites and fundraising but doesn’t stop the bad actors. DOJ isn’t going to prosecute any of them. Start impeaching the smaller fry and taking away their cushy pay and benefits will make every bureaucrat think carefully about the cost of participating in these schemes. It seems like a lot of work for a few small fry but it’s not.
crazy (cde091) — 7/9/2015 @ 7:07 amre #26: It is Iowa, so doubtful but maybe they are “2 Day a Year Jews” who think you need to buy a ticket in order to attend services?
seeRpea (5d7dd6) — 7/9/2015 @ 7:15 amI want to see them apply this to mosques. Then we will know if they are serious of just a new version of the KKK.
I don’t know Iowa. Is it filled with farmers who are too busy farming to run other people’s lives, and the poltical climate of the state is left up to Univ. of Iowa and Iowa State?
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 7/9/2015 @ 8:37 amthey gave us Carter and Obama, do we need for proof for enemy action,
narciso (ee1f88) — 7/9/2015 @ 8:38 amjust asking to understand how it comes to be, narciso.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 7/9/2015 @ 8:49 amDid all of those Iowa farmers elect a city boy from Chicago?
the ones in the Democratic primary farn arugula and shop at IKEA,
narciso (ee1f88) — 7/9/2015 @ 8:57 amCSPS, I intended to write abolish the criminal agency by instituting a national sales tax collected at the retail level. No more income taxes, no more Lois Lerners.
Perhaps this correction will tend to assuage your concerns. In either case, best regards and thanks for the response.
ropelight (b5f8ba) — 7/9/2015 @ 9:00 amThe way the IRS scandal has been handled by the administration has done more than anything else to damage my faith in the bureaucracies that run through the government. Other scandals always seemed to at least be couched in bad ideas that might have at least SOUNDED good or could have ended well.
Like Fast and Furious wasn’t, on the surface, a patently immoral AND terrible idea. The precursor Bush program wasn’t a terrible failure, even if it wasn’t a huge success either. “Let’s put tracking devices in guns and find out where smugglers are” is, at least, a GOOD end, even if it turned into a fiasco. The execution and planning were where the problems came in, not the inherent GOAL of the program.
That’s where the IRS targeting program really hits me the wrong way. The POINT of the program was to silence dissent and punish political enemies. There’s no way to justify that as “some people were stupid/made a mistake.” People consciously chose to do wrong while working in the government. And they’ll all get away with it.
Matt S (37418c) — 7/9/2015 @ 11:46 amOur alphabet soup of agencies that our elites have foisted upon us to achieve Utopia have sort of become our enemy, no?
Patricia (5fc097) — 7/9/2015 @ 12:20 pmNo Patricia. ISIS is “sort of” our enemy they’ve never directly attacked you or me. The alphabet soup bureaucrats get me in their sights at least once or twice a year.
Rev. Barack Hussein Hoagie (f4eb27) — 7/9/2015 @ 12:43 pm26 USC 6103 should mean that something like this was bloody well not happening. There are privacy laws that prevent this type of coordination. And yet…what on earth happened!
Lieutenant Blantyre (963724) — 7/9/2015 @ 6:13 pmIt looks like the IRS’s tentacles extended into all forms of criminality:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/421020/surprise-surprise-lois-lerner-had-friends-wisconsin-david-french
Except to illegally share confidential information and/or to coordinate their efforts, it is impossible to imagine what a partisan federal IRS employee and a partisan state board member could conceivably could possibly “work” together on.
Steve57 (4c9797) — 7/10/2015 @ 2:05 pmKnowing the tendency for projection, once we heard about the “vast right wing conspiracy” we should have been more aware, I guess.
I guess Scott Walker has already been pretty well vetted, no skeletons in his closet, no nothin’ left in his closet.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 7/10/2015 @ 2:16 pmMy default position, doc, is that everything the progressive cultural Marxist leftists say is not only a lie but the exact opposite of reality.
Which is why, for example, when Ben Rhodes emphasized in the WH talking points that the assault and murders at our facilities in Benghazi did not reflect a broad policy failure I could only conclude that the catastrophe was the result of a broad policy failure.
Steve57 (4c9797) — 7/10/2015 @ 2:40 pmWell, but as you’ve said elsewhere, steve57, you still have to ask in whose perspective was it a policy failure vs. feature.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 7/10/2015 @ 2:48 pm