The amended complaint includes an additional claim for an alleged violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as new evidence that reveals a politically motivated attack on conservative groups by the IRS as early as August, 2010 when President Barack Obama allegedly began directing comments at his political opponents. “The intimidation campaign conducted by the IRS is much more politically-motivated and coordinated than previously thought.” ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow stated in a press release on Monday. Besides Shulman, Chief Counsel William Wilkins and former and current officials in the Tax Exempt/Government Entities Division were added to the complaint, including former Commissioner Sarah Hall Ingram, and current Commissioner Joseph Grant.
Michael Seto, acting manager, Exempt Organization Technical Unit; and Nikole Flax and Judith E. Kindell, senior technical advisors in the IRS’ Exempt Organization Division, were also named as co-defendants. According to the complaint, “President Obama joined what the IRS and Democrat members of Congress had already started: a relentless campaign to stifle the free speech of those protesting his and Democrats’ policies and the direction of the federal government.”
The original lawsuit was filed in May 2013. This is the second time the ACLJ has amended it, previously adding 16 organizations in June 2013, bringing to 41 the total number of conservative non-profit groups represented by the ACLJ against the IRS. “The Obama Administration and the IRS objected to the conservative message of our clients, which resulted in the unlawful and unconstitutional scheme to keep our clients on the sidelines – out of the political debate. This filing strengthens our case and underscores our commitment to holding those responsible for this scheme accountable.” Sekulow said.
ACLJ Senior Counsel David French told CNSNews.com that the IRS has even been asking about the activities of family members of his non-profit plaintiffs. “The IRS asked for identities not just of the directors and officers of these organizations, but activities even of their family members, trying to find out if they had ‘indirect communication with people who hold elected office.’ “We also have the emails from Lois Lerner indicating that she sought the urgency with which they attached to the Tea Party issue, even forwarding around internally articles about the Tea Party’s threat to the Democratic majority in the Senate, so there’s abundant circumstantial evidence and abundant direct evidence that there were political concerns [that] were foremost in the IRS [officials'] minds at this point.” Lerner, who was placed on administrative leave in May after the IRS scandal broke, resigned last month.
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