Rivers

We continue to undercover the details of the Obama IRS’s arbitrary and capricious behavior toward those presumed to be “enemies” of President Obama.

Last week we released 695 pages of new documents containing admissions by IRS officials that the agency used “inappropriate political labels” to screen the tax-exempt applications of conservative organizations. Other records reveal that the IRS was going to require 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations to restrict their alleged political activities if they opted for “expedited consideration” of their tax-exempt applications.

The documents were produced after a revelation by the IRS that it had located “an additional 6,924 documents of potentially responsive records” relating to a 2015 Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit about the Obama IRS targeting scandal. These new records are the first batch of nearly 7,000 documents that had been hidden from JW, Congress, and the American people. (Our FOIA lawsuit seeks records about the IRS’ se******n of individuals and organizations for audits based upon applications requesting nonprofit tax status filed by Tea Party and other 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organizations (Judicial Watch v. Internal Revenue Service (No. 1:15-cv-00220)).

Of the 695 pages of documents released by the IRS, 422 (61 percent) were completely blacked out. Again, this new material was not in the “Congressional Database,” which the IRS created in 2013 to house records responsive to congressional inquiries into the IRS scandal.

Nevertheless, we extracted some key info – such as a June 20, 2013, memo from Karen Schiller, then-acting director, EO (Exempt Organizations) Rulings and Agreements, suspending use of the controversial Be on the Lookout (BOLO) and Touch and Go (TAG) lists:

EO Rulings and Agreements is undertaking a comprehensive review of screening and identification of critical issues. We intend to develop proper procedures and uses for these types of documents. Until a more formal process for identification, approval and distribution of this type of data is established, Rulings and Agreements will not use this technique to elevate issues.

In an August 9, 2013, memo, Schiller admitted the IRS used political labels in targeting the groups for special scrutiny and possible audit and that, going forward, the agency would screen organizations based only on their activities, “not words” or “labels of any kind:”

As Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel has said, the IRS has taken decisive action to eliminate the use of inappropriate political labels in the screening of 501(c)(4) applications. IRS policy is now clear that screening is based on activity, not words in a name. The new steps and current policies were outlined in the June 24 report, which noted: “In the absence of BOLO lists, the Determinations Unit will continue to screen for information affecting the determination of applications for tax exempt status, including activity tied to political campaign intervention, but it [will] be done without regard to specific labels of any kind.” The 30-day report also reflects the June 20, 2013 memorandum, which was issued to officially suspend the use of the BOLO list in the screening process.

The documents also include a “Dear [Applicant]” letter that offers an “expedited process” for 501(c)(4) groups in exchange for restriction on their activities:

This optional expedited process is currently available only to applicants for 501(c)(4) status with applications pending for more than 120 days as of May 28, 2013, that indicate the organization may be involved in political campaign intervention.

In this optional process, an organization will represent that it satisfies, and will continue to satisfy, set percentages with respect to the level of its social welfare activities and political campaign intervention activities (as defined in the specific instructions on pages 5-7). These percentage representations are not an interpretation of law but are a safe harbor for those organizations that choose to participate in the optional process.

In short, the Obama IRS, after lawlessly delaying the approval of Tea Party group applications, tried to extort restrictions – which had no basis in law – on these very same groups.

On September 30, 2013, Acting Director, Exempt Organizations, Kenneth C. Corbin, sent a memo to IRS staff providing detailed guidance on classifying applications when “‘merit approval’ is not an option,” emphasizing that the determination is to be based on “facts and circumstances,” not “words and labels:”

Classifier reviews the application and determines if it should be routed to a specialty group. This determination is based upon facts and circumstances of the stated activities within Part II of the application rather than names or labels. This is consistent with Karen Schiller’s August 9, 2013 memorandum …

The Schiller and Corbin memos came on the heels of the May 14, 2013, Inspector General report revealing that the IRS had singled out groups using conservative-sounding terms such as “patriot” and “Tea Party” when applying for tax-exempt status. The IG probe determined that “Early in Calendar Year 2010, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax-exempt status (e.g., lists of past and future donors)” and “delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications” in advance of the 2012 p**********l e******n.

No wonder the Obama IRS hid these records. These new smoking-gun documents contain admissions by the Obama IRS that it inappropriately targeted conservative groups. But the records also show that the abuse continued – as the Obama IRS tried to force conservative applicants to give up their First Amendment rights in order to finally get their applications granted.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/10/documents-confirm-that-obama-irs-improperly-targeted-conservatives/

robmull Loc: florida

"Lefty," for about 120 years, Rivers, has been getting further and further to the "left," so that "WE," standing (R)ather firmly in the conservative space, seem to be a mere speck in the (D)istance. Strange birds these liberal progressives; and I'm sure first cousins to the DoDo. And sure-enough, "WE" certainly gave them enough rope...!!! What IS that "crushing" noise??? GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CONSERVATIVE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH; GOOOOO CONSERVATIVE SHERIFFS DAVID CLARKE AND JOE ARPAIO; GOOOOOOOOOOO REP. TREY GOWDY (R); and, GOOOOOOOOOO PRESIDENT "45" DONALD J. TRUMP (R); JUST LIKE THE WEATHER!!!

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

We've all known this from the hearings. Now we have written proof. Does anyone think the liberals will believe it or care?

Ricko Loc: Florida

rob-believe you meant Lefty not Rivers has been getting further left. Did you not ? America First !!!

vernon

Trump hasn't fired that obama ass hole yet. now he's hired cohn, a dedicated demorat, for the economic something or other. trump has put many demorats in the upper levels of his administration. these people do not have the interests of trump or the american people in mind - they will try to insert their socialist/c*******t ideas into their recommendations to the president.

okie don

Clinton's did the same damn thing.
Remember when Lois Eerner took the 5th when questioned about it?
Suprise-suprise(:

Cool Breeze

Oh there is some smoking going on but it's not a gun!

okie don

Pretty evident to me, who's actually secretly running 'th show. Khazarian 'Z*****ts'- as usual for years now. Can you pronounce Kushner, among others (:

okie don

How about Rahm Emanuel, now in Chitown? Huh!,(:
Come on folks wake 'th hell up. The American 'deplorable' sheeple sure as hell don't. Even Main stream media too