Can anyone feel safe from persecution? Despite the neglect of the liberal media, the world is learning about the corruption of the IRS in targeting conservative groups. But the corruption goes much deeper than harassing groups seeking first time non-profit designations, into actively sabotaging existing non-profit groups by releasing confidential information.
According to published records and John Eastman, a constitutional law professor at Chapman University, who is chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, in March of 2012 the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) published a confidential tax return of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which was immediately republished by The Huffington Post and other liberal news media outlets. The HRC and NOM are the leading national groups on opposing sides of the fight over the rights of homosexuals (gays) to marry. The HRC wants to redefine marriage to make it genderless, while the NOM wishes to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman, as God intended.
The National Organization for Marriage was not the only conservative-leaning group or business that appears to have faced illegal actions from IRS employees. The liberal ProPublica reported that the IRS handed over to them confidential documents of nine conservative organizations whose applications for non-profit status were still pending. Among them: Crossroads GPS, a key group backing Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
Aside from the blatant Constitutional issues, the leak of confidential information may have directly and indirectly influenced the 2012 elections, and not just at the presidential level, but State, county and local jurisdictions as well. For months before March 2012, the pro-gay marriage HRC had been demanding that the NOM, publicly identify its major donors, something that NOM and many other non-profit organizations refuse to do. The reason is simple. It is well documented that gay marriage advocates have used such information to launch campaigns of intimidation against traditional marriage supporters.
Gay marriage proponents demanded the information, and it appears that the IRS illegally gave them exactly what they were looking for. The tax return released by the HRC contained the names and addresses of dozens of major donors to NOM. And there’s little doubt where the documents came from. The tax returns contained internal coding added by the IRS after the returns were originally submitted.
For the IRS to leak any organization’s tax return to its political opponents is an outrageous breach of ethics and, if proven, constitutes a felony. Every organization — liberal and conservative — should shudder at the idea of the IRS playing politics with its confidential tax return information. But the situation here is even more egregious because the head of the HRC was at the time serving as a national co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign. Does anyone see a pattern here? Conservative organizations were and are being purposely targeted for unreasonable scrutiny because they dared to criticize the Obama administration’s programs or initiatives.
The release of the National Organization for Marriage’s confidential tax return to the Human Rights Campaign is an undeniable indicator of IRS corruption. Contrary to assertions that the targeting of Tea Party groups was an error in judgment by low-level IRS bureaucrats which has since been debunked by Fox News, the release of NOM’s confidential data to a group headed by an Obama campaign co-chair suggests the possibility of complicity at the highest levels of politics and government. This wasn’t a low-level error in judgment; it was a conscious act to reward a prominent Obama supporter while punishing an opponent. “We will reward our friends and punish our opponents”. This should send a shiver down the back of every law abiding citizen.
I don’t know why the IRS has not been very interested in getting to the bottom of what happened. Federal investigators have interviewed NOM officials about the matter, but nothing seems to have been done beyond that. Now it is becoming more clear why the IRS is not excited about following up on NOM’s case. They have a lot more on their plate.
At this stage, nobody is accusing the White House or the Obama re-election campaign of illegal activity. But there is a serious question about whether there was communication or possible collusion between the IRS and the HRC, and if there was, whether anyone at the White House or the Obama re-election campaign was involved. As it appears the head of the IRS was making regular trips to the White House. According to the White House visitor’s log, Mr. Shulman visited the White House on 157 occasions, more than the Secretary of State, Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Defense combined. Either there was a lot of secret egg rolling going on or there were other secrets being discussed.
It is imperative that congressional investigators get to the bottom of these issues. If the IRS can get away with leaking NOM’s confidential tax return to its chief political opponent, and targeting other Conservative groups for nefarious reasons then no taxpayer is safe from political retribution by the federal government. We must demand satisfaction and put an end to the tyranny of the liberal minority in this country. It is time for all God fearing people to stand up for what they believe in. We need to demand equal justice and integrity from our government and our elected officials. If the IRS is acting in a partisan fashion it should be dismantled. Urge Congress to enact the Fair Tax. Every one pays their fair share including Obama and the members of Congress. You get to keep your pay check and only pay tax on what you buy. Or you could vote for the Flat Tax which could be completed on a post card. Either initiative would greatly curtail the actions and authority of the IRS.
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It’s Not Just The IRS, And It’s Clearly Coordinated
To anyone with any sense of political propriety, the growing story of IRS abuses targeting conservative groups is beyond unsettling. Even administration supporters must realize that with a change of administration, groups and individuals of their political orientation could be the next targets. But the IRS isn’t the only agency involved in this targeting, which even more clearly validates the hypothesis that it’s all coordinated from the White House, and not just some “rogue agents.”
We now know the IRS was targeting applications for non-profit status by conservative groups. We also know, from recent revelations, that the Department of Justice (which seems increasingly to be an oxymoron) has been targeting media organizations and reporters that are seen to pose a threat to the administration. But that’s just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
The IRS is further implicated in this web of corruption by their audit division. Idaho resident Frank VanderSloot served as a national co-chair to the Mitt Romney campaign, and was a major donor. In April, 2012, the Obama Campaign published a scurrilous piece on their website, attacking the character of eight conservatives who were backing Romney, including VanderSloot.
Shortly after that posting, VanderSloot was subjected to three federal government audits. Two of those were by the IRS, one for his personal income and one for his businesses. The other was a Labor Department audit of one of his businesses. Is this a coincidence? Not according to VanderSloot, who said he “wasn’t the only one” on that list that received the royal Obama treatment.
In 2009 and 2011, Gibson Guitar Corporation was raided by armed federal agents from the FBI and the Justice Department, for allegedly using “endangered” wood in the construction of their acoustic guitars. The agents seized raw materials, electronic files and finished guitars. The raid cost the company over $3 million, not including a $300,000 settlement with the government. None of Gibson’s competitors received this kind of treatment, even though Martin & Co. is known to use exactly the same “endangered” wood. The difference? Gibson CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, actively supports Republican candidates, while Martin’s CEO, Chris Martin IV is a Democrat supporter.
Catherine Engelbrecht, saw a need to educate citizens to prevent voter fraud. She founded a non-profit organization, True the Vote, for that express purpose. Her organization’s non-profit filing was one of those held up for years by the IRS’s “Advocacy Group,” which has admitted to targeting conservative groups.
After filing for tax-exempt status, she has gone through four IRS audits; two of their personal finances, and two of their family business. Her business was also inspected several times by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), where only minor issues were found, but they were fined $25,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) made an unannounced audit of her business. And not to be outdone, the FBI started contacting them, probing for improprieties. Neither the ATF nor the FBI could find anything to charge them with. It was all harassment.
To believe all of this is coincidental is tantamount to suspension of all cognitive functionality. It is targeted, coordinated, and implemented with the precision that would make Stalin, Mao, or Hitler envious.
Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal revealed a year ago that the president maintained an “enemies list.” Not enemies of the state, but people who oppose his agenda and are outspoken in their opposition. As she said, “Any president who targets a private citizen for his politics is de facto engaged in government intimidation and threats. This is why presidents since Nixon have carefully avoided the practice. Save Mr. Obama, who acknowledges no rules.”
Peter Wehner in Commentary Magazine said recently, “We have seen from this White House Nixonian tendencies and, it would appear, a burning anger and resentment toward its critics. Whether it’s Fox News, the Chamber of Commerce, or companies that sponsor reports that take issue with the administration’s assessments, there seems to be a cast of mind that views critics as enemies, as individuals and institutions that need to be ridiculed, delegitimized, or ruined… there are lines that ought not to be crossed, temptations that need to be resisted, and people in the White House who need to say ‘no’ to tactics that begin to drag an administration, and a country, down.”
Obama and his cronies have painted targets on groups and individuals who don’t buy into their statist ideology, and his henchmen in the federal government take the shots. And the proof that it’s coming from the very top is in the pervasive use of government agencies to stifle dissent and intimidate critics. It’s not just the IRS, but includes the Labor Department, the Department of Justice, FBI, ATF, and OSHA.
These are the consequences of sending a Machiavellian to lead a government that has such expansive control of our lives. Obama and his gaggle of “Csars” and government henchmen are only curtailed in their insidious intimidation and attacks on his political adversaries by bringing the administration’s atrocities to light. These are the tactics of tyrants, and have no place in America!
AP award winning columnist Richard Larsen is President of Larsen Financial, a brokerage and financial planning firm in Pocatello, Idaho, and is a graduate of Idaho State University with degrees in Political Science and History and former member of the Idaho State Journal Editorial Board. He can be reached at rlarsenen@cableone.net. You can connect with him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rlarsenen.
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