U.S. Sen. Carl Levin involved in Pressuring the IRS to target conservative groups

[The Rabbi]

What is your real concern? These ARE NOT POLITICAL GROUPS with a political cause, are they?

Yes or No?

what law did they violate? specifically what chapter; what part of the law?
if it was so out in the open why were the e-mails speaking in code about "the project"?

Yes or No? Are these 501c's political groups with a political cause or not?

What is it that you are fighting for...? What is it that you believe is happening here? Right wing political groups are being unfairly scrutinized???

Since the IRS apologized for exactly that then yes, that is what's going on. Suppression of free speech by the Democrats. Like no one saw that coming.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

One would think that everyone would be pissed but I think Americans have thrown in the towel. We bitch for awhile and move on.

Let's see how long it takes the useful idiots in this forum to start making excuses for Levin and the rest of the Democrat criminals.

This is major but the press will sweep it away.

 

[Care4all]

what law did they violate? specifically what chapter; what part of the law?
if it was so out in the open why were the e-mails speaking in code about "the project"?

Yes or No? Are these 501c's political groups with a political cause or not?

What is it that you are fighting for...? What is it that you believe is happening here? Right wing political groups are being unfairly scrutinized???

Since the IRS apologized for exactly that then yes, that is what's going on. Suppression of free speech by the Democrats. Like no one saw that coming.

but since these groups can NOT in any way be any kind of Political purposed group as their 'cause' in order to be 'tax exempt', what do you expect the IRS to do, to enforce the law?

And most importantly, what kind of "political advantage" for you has been taken away by their, (the IRS's) scrutiny if these groups are NOT suppose to have any kind of political purpose in the first place, again, according to the law?

Are these groups, both liberal and conservative, trying to SKIRT the LAW?

and who's responsibility is it to make certain the law is followed if not the IRS?

and do you think that ALL irs employees are liberals and there are no conservatives? Wasn't Learner appointed by President Bush? I don't think he would have picked her if he thought she was some kind of partisan Liberal, do you?

 

[Plasmaball]

So....There is no story here...got it.

 

[The Rabbi]

Yes or No? Are these 501c's political groups with a political cause or not?

What is it that you are fighting for...? What is it that you believe is happening here? Right wing political groups are being unfairly scrutinized???

Since the IRS apologized for exactly that then yes, that is what's going on. Suppression of free speech by the Democrats. Like no one saw that coming.

but since these groups can NOT in any way be any kind of Political purposed group as their 'cause' in order to be 'tax exempt', what do you expect the IRS to do, to enforce the law?

And most importantly, what kind of "political advantage" for you has been taken away by their, (the IRS's) scrutiny if these groups are NOT suppose to have any kind of political purpose in the first place, again, according to the law?

Are these groups, both liberal and conservative, trying to SKIRT the LAW?

and who's responsibility is it to make certain the law is followed if not the IRS?

and do you think that ALL irs employees are liberals and there are no conservatives? Wasn't Learner appointed by President Bush? I don't think he would have picked her if he thought she was some kind of partisan Liberal, do you?

Your post is based on a misconception as to what the groups can and cannot do.
The issue was the IRS blocking approvals of applications. They apologized for it, meaning they agree they did the wrong thing.
Why are you defending what the IRS has already admitted was wrong?

 

[Jroc]

There should be a special prosecutor, They should give Lois Lerner immunity, and get to the bottom of this scandal. Carl Levin is not in this all on his own.

Lois lerner is neck deep. SHe needs to be threatened with prison and loss of benefits, not given immunity.

She's nobody, we need to get to the bottom of this crap. Immunity, then she must testify under oath.

 

[thanatos144]

There should be a special prosecutor, They should give Lois Lerner immunity, and get to the bottom of this scandal. Carl Levin is not in this all on his own.

Lois lerner is neck deep. SHe needs to be threatened with prison and loss of benefits, not given immunity.

She's nobody, we need to get to the bottom of this crap. Immunity, then she must testify under oath.

Why would she? She is covered now. No way this Department Of Justice does anything to here whether Congress demands it or not. She is part of the most corrupt administration ever.

 

[Care4all]

Since the IRS apologized for exactly that then yes, that is what's going on. Suppression of free speech by the Democrats. Like no one saw that coming.

but since these groups can NOT in any way be any kind of Political purposed group as their 'cause' in order to be 'tax exempt', what do you expect the IRS to do, to enforce the law?

And most importantly, what kind of "political advantage" for you has been taken away by their, (the IRS's) scrutiny if these groups are NOT suppose to have any kind of political purpose in the first place, again, according to the law?

Are these groups, both liberal and conservative, trying to SKIRT the LAW?

and who's responsibility is it to make certain the law is followed if not the IRS?

and do you think that ALL irs employees are liberals and there are no conservatives? Wasn't Learner appointed by President Bush? I don't think he would have picked her if he thought she was some kind of partisan Liberal, do you?

Your post is based on a misconception as to what the groups can and cannot do.
The issue was the IRS blocking approvals of applications. They apologized for it, meaning they agree they did the wrong thing.
Why are you defending what the IRS has already admitted was wrong?

This is what they apologized for:

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service apologized Friday for subjecting Tea Party groups to additional scrutiny during the 2012 election, but denied any political motive.
Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt groups, said organizations that included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their applications for tax-exempt status were singled out for additional reviews. Her remarks, which came at an American Bar Association gathering, were first reported by the Associated Press.
White House spokesman Jay Carney on Friday afternoon called the IRS action "inappropriate" and said the Obama administration supports a full investigation....
Lerner said the practice, initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati, was wrong.
"It was an error in judgment, and it was not appropriate, but that's what they did," Lerner told reporters. She declined to talk about how many employees were involved and whether there would disciplinary action. "I think they were insensitive, or less sensitive than they should have been."
The error, she said, was in assuming that any group with "tea party" or "patriot" in its name necessarily needed more scrutiny for political activity just because of its name. About 300 groups that had applied for tax-exempt status were put into a "bucket" of cases needing further scrutiny, and of those, about a quarter had tea party affiliations.
That problem was compounded when examiners asked more intrusive questions in what's known as a "development" process. "Some of the development letters that were send were far too broad and include things like asking for the organization's donor list, which is not generally what we do," Lerner said.
Since the problem was discovered sometime last year, the IRS has approved about 130 of the original 300 applications, and about 25 have been withdrawn. The rest remain pending, and no application has been denied.
Lerner said she had never discussed the issue with Treasury or White House officials and could not say whether they knew of the problems before her apology Friday. She said her focus had been on fixing the problem.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/05/10/irs-apology-conservative-groups-2012-election/2149939/
I agree just using names like 'tea party' and 'patriot' and 'progressive' to cause reason for this 'double down scrutiny that these irs workers gave' is just downright wrong!!!

What I don't get is why those on the right immediately said Obama was involved and ''Obama ordered this'' and a whole bunch of other crud like that...? Was it just for the sake of partisan bashing with no reason? (I don't take out of the equation that these irs workers could have gone overboard for their own personal partisan reasons too, which is reprehensible imo)

For Everyone:
how do you think the IRS should scrutinize these applicants, to make certain they are legally forming their 501c's without politics/political party being their focus?

To me, this is the 64,000 dollar question...How do we correct these actions, and still maintain and enforce the law governing these groups, going forward?

How do we learn from these mistakes and correct them, while still enforcing the law?

 

[Jroc]

IRS Officials Visited White House Over 150 Times During Period of Scandal


further investigation into the IRS scandal involving draconian scrutiny of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status reveals that there was significant collusion between the IRS and various government entities, including the FEC and the White House. Documents show that two IRS officials made over 100 visits to the White House during the period in which the tax agency was targeting conservative organizations.

IRS official Sarah Hall Ingram reportedly made 165 visits to the White House to meet with an Obama official who was exchanging confidential taxpayer information with the IRS. Ingram headed the IRS office that oversaw tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012.

Likewise, IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman visited the White House 157 times — more than any of the most trusted members of the president’s cabinet, including Kathleen Sebellius and Janet Napolitano

IRS Officials Visited White House Over 150 Times During Period of Scandal

 

[Jroc]

IRS 10 Times More Likely to Audit Tea Partiers

The Congressional investigation into the IRS’ handling of non-profit status applications by conservative tea party groups reveals that group members were 10 times more likely to be audited than the general public. For the overall population filing income tax returns, the audit rate is one percent; however, members of the tea party groups have an audit rate of 10 percent. In addition to the substantially higher audit rate, an attorney representing a number of tea party members also alleges the agency handles the audits in a more hardnosed manner than is standard.

The investigation into IRS tactics began over a year ago as the prior head of the agency division, Lois Lerner, admitted to Congress that tea party groups received special scrutiny. In order for donations to be tax deductible, an organization must seek approval from the IRS. Many of the groups were required to submit donor lists as part of the non-profit 501(c)(3) status application process and the donor lists were not supposed to be kept or used for any other purpose. Lerner was cited for being in contempt of Congress this week after she invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify, but only after testifying that she was innocent.

IRS 10 Times More Likely to Audit Tea Partiers

 

[Jroc]

Justice dept involved of course. We may haft to wait until Obama is out of office to get to the bottom of this scandal.

Justice Department pushed Lois Lerner to help build criminal case against nonprofits

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and subcommittee chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have requested an interview with Jack Smith, who heads the Justice Department's Public Integrity Unit, after a subordinate revealed the department meetings with Lerner in a closed-door interview.

“The Justice Department convened a meeting with former IRS official Lois Lerner in October 2010 to discuss how the IRS could assist in the criminal enforcement of campaign-finance laws against politically active nonprofits,” Jordan and Issa said in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. “This meeting was arranged at the direction of Public Integrity Section Chief Jack Smith.”

The GOP-led House recently found Lerner, who headed the IRS Exempt Organizations department, in contempt for refusing to testify before the Oversight panel about her role targeting conservative and Tea Party groups seeking 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status.

In October 2010, Lerner delivered an address at Duke University in which she told the audience, “everyone is screaming at us” to fix campaign finance before the 2012 election.

Issa and Jordan said they believe the Justice Department, “contributed to this pressure” on Lerner and other IRS officials to stop right-leaning organizations from achieving tax-exempt status, following a Supreme Court ruling lifting restrictions on their activity.

GOP: Justice Department pushed Lois Lerner to help build criminal case against nonprofits | WashingtonExaminer.com

 

[Darkwind]

and another question...if 501c's are ONLY suppose to be for:

Civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit, but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, or local associations of employees, the membership of which is limited to the employees of a designated person or persons in a particular municipality, and the net earnings of which are devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes” are exempt from taxation.

What does it matter to you if these groups were approved or not approved, IF THESE GROUPS ARE NOT PERMITTED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES, according to the law?

Are you trying to SKIRT the law?

Not the Senators job, and he did not do it because he thought these groups were violating law.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

That's not a crime...but make a movie critical of the Obama Regime

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