Berman Post

The I.R.S. Abusing Americans Is Nothing New

2013-05-17T23:34:00.000-04:00

Which of course does not make this any better.

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Scarborough Says IRS Scandal Makes Gun Background Checks A Little Less Appealing

2013-05-17T23:31:00.000-04:00

IRS hid existence of Tea Party targeting documents?

2013-05-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

Part of the growing scandel, or a seperate but related scandel...

http://freebeacon.com/cover-up

"The Internal Revenue Service denied the existence of any documents related to its policy of targeting Tea Party organizations in response to a 2010 Freedom of Information Act request, even though such documents were later discovered by the IRS inspector general.

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a conservative nonprofit group, filed a FOIA request in 2010 through investigative journalist Lynn K. Walsh seeking all IRS documents related to the agencies tax-exempt division specifically mentioning the Tea Party.

IRS headquarters responded in 2011 that it “found no documents specifically responsive to your request.”

However, the May 14 inspector general report found that the “first Sensitive Case Report [identifying Tea Party groups] was prepared by the Technical Unit” in April of 2010.

The report’s timeline chronicles the existence of numerous 2010 emails, memoranda, and policies related to the targeting of conservative organizations.

According to the IG timeline, an email was sent on July 27, 2010 “updating the description of applications involving potential political campaign intervention and providing a coordinator contact for the cases.”

“The description was changed to read, ‘These cases involve various local organizations in the Tea Party movement [that] are applying for exemption under 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4).’”

The IRS determinations unit developed a “be on the lookout” listing on Aug. 12, 2010, “in order to replace the existing practice of sending separate e-mails to all Determinations Unit employees as to cases to watch for, potentially abusive cases, cases requiring processing by the team of specialists, and emerging issues.”

The language of the listing was identical to the July 27, 2010 email.

“Either IRS Headquarters was entirely incompetent in maintaining awareness of prominent policies and documents within the IRS, or it deliberately covered up the existence of anti-conservative IRS policies. Either is terrifying,” Maurice Thompson, Executive Director of the 1851 Center, said in a statement. “Legal action is necessary to ensure that the IRS does not lie to taxpayers in this manner in the future.”"

Crowd applauds as GOP rep Mike Kelly lays into former IRS chief at hearing

2013-05-17T23:19:00.000-04:00

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Piers Morgan (CNN): ‘This Is Vaguely Tyrannical Behavior by the American Government’

2013-05-17T23:15:00.000-04:00

Wow, even Peirs Morgan is coming around.

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IRS Commissioner Targeting Conservatives 'Absolutely Not Illegal'

2013-05-17T23:12:00.000-04:00

Crazy...

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IRS Hid Scandal Unil After The Election

2013-05-17T23:07:00.000-04:00

I am sure it was not political though...

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IRS asked pro-life group about 'the content of their prayers'

2013-05-17T23:03:00.000-04:00

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West Wing Weak: Your Guide to Obama's Scandal-Filled Week

2013-05-17T23:00:00.000-04:00

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Obama Holds a Press Conference

2013-05-16T23:59:00.000-04:00

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Second IRS Offical on The Chopping Block Was Also Set to Resign Next Month? Promoted only 8 Days Ago?

2013-05-16T23:53:00.000-04:00

More 'low level staffers' of couse...

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/16/abc-yes-its-true-the-acting-irs-commissioner-was-preparing-to-leave-in-a-few-weeks-anyway

" I take it we’ll find out tomorrow that this guy has been planning to retire for six months.

An internal IRS memo says Joseph Grant, commissioner of the agency’s tax exempt and government entities division, will retire June 3. Grant joins Steven Miller, who was forced to resign as acting IRS commissioner on Wednesday.

As part of his duties, Grant oversaw the IRS division that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
Grant wasn’t the commissioner of the tax-exempt division, he was the acting commissioner, just as Miller was the acting commissioner of the entire agency. Does that mean he’s term-limited too and was on his way out anyway?

Update: You can’t be serious.

Lauren French @laurennfrench

Joseph Grant, retiring IRS official, was promoted to commissioner of the tax-exempt division just 8 days ago
5:37 PM - 16 May 2013

Was he promoted from acting commissioner to commissioner, or from some lower rank to acting commissioner? I can’t find any personnel announcement online. The distinction is important, as one suggests this is a legit scalp-taking and the other suggests it’s a farce. If he was installed as permanent commissioner only to “retire” now, then obviously he was pushed out against his wishes. If he was merely promoted to acting commissioner, then it looks like he was elevated for the purpose of taking the fall."

Benghazi Emails Directly Contradict White House Claims

2013-05-16T23:49:00.000-04:00

What is still hiding in the rest of those emails.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/newly-released-benghazi-emails-directly-contradict-white-house-claims_724603.html

"The White House on Wednesday released 94 pages of emails between top administration and intelligence officials who helped shape the talking points about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that the CIA would provide to policymakers in both the legislative and executive branches.

The documents, first reported by THE WEEKLY STANDARD in articles here and here, directly contradict claims by White House press secretary Jay Carney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the revisions of those talking points were driven by the intelligence community and show heavy input from top Obama administration officials, particularly those at the State Department.

The emails provide further detail about the rewriting of the talking points during a 24-hour period from midday September 14 to midday September 15. As THE WEEKLY STANDARD previously reported, a briefing from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows that the big changes came in three waves – internally at the CIA, after email feedback from top administration officials, and during or after a meeting of high-ranking intelligence and national security officials the following morning.

The initial CIA changes softened some of the language about the participants in the Benghazi assault – from “Islamic extremists with ties to al Qaeda” to “Islamic extremists.” But CIA officials also added bullet points about the possible participation of Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group, and previous warnings about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi. Those additions came out after the talking points were sent to “the interagency,” where the CIA’s final draft was further stripped down to little more than boilerplate. The half dozen references to terrorists – both in Benghazi and more generally – all but disappeared. Gone were references to al Qaeda, Ansar al Sharia, jihadists, Islamic extremists, etc. The only remaining mention was a note that “extremists” had participated in the attack.

As striking as what appears in the email traffic is what does not. There is no mention of the YouTube video that would become a central part of the administration’s explanation of the attacks to the American people until a brief mention in the subject line of emails coming out of an important meeting where further revisions were made.

Carney, in particular, is likely to face tough questioning about the contents of the emails because he made claims to reporters that were untrue. “The White House and the State Department have made clear that the single adjustment that was made to those talking points by either of those two – of these two institutions were changing the word ‘consulate’ to ‘diplomatic facility,’ because the word ‘consulate’ was inaccurate,” he told reporters on November 28, 2012.

That’s not true. An email sent at 9:15 PM on September 14, from an official in the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs to others at the agency, described the process this way. “The State Department had major reservations with much or most of the document. We revised the document with their concerns in mind.”"

IRS Building Largest Government Database

2013-05-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

I sure this will end well...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324715704578481461934680982.html

"To monitor compliance with these rules, the IRS and HHS are now building the largest personal information database the government has ever attempted. Known as the Federal Data Services Hub, the project is taking the IRS's own records (for income and employment status) and centralizing them with information from Social Security (identity), Homeland Security (citizenship), Justice (criminal history), HHS (enrollment in entitlement programs and certain medical claims data) and state governments (residency).

The data hub will be used as the verification system for ObamaCare's complex subsidy formula. All insurers, self-insured businesses and government health programs must submit reports to the IRS about the individuals they cover, which the IRS will cross-check against tax returns.

Good luck in advance to anyone who gets caught in this system's gears, assuming it even works. Centralizing so much personal information in one place is another invitation for the IRS wigglers in some regional office—or maybe higher up—to make political decisions about enforcement."

Parents, Pot, and Prohibition: Daisy Bram's Story

2013-05-16T23:38:00.000-04:00

Video embedded below.

IRS to pro-life group: Send letter pledging not to protest Planned Parenthood to get your tax exemption

2013-05-16T23:33:00.000-04:00

The IRS scandle grows...

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/16/irs-to-pro-life-group-send-letter-pledging-not-to-protest-planned-parenthood-to-get-your-tax-exemption

"The Inspector General of the Treasury reported this week that the IRS began applying extra scrutiny and conducting harassment of Obama administration opponents as early as March 2010. However, for at least two pro-life groups, that scrutiny appears to have started a year earlier. Joel Gehrke reports that one group was told its tax-exempt application depended not on promising to stay out of electoral politics, but on pledging not to protest Planned Parenthood — a prominent supporter of Barack Obama:

IRS officials refused to grant tax exempt status two pro-life organizations because of their position on the abortion issue, according to a non-profit law firm, which said that one group was pressured not to protest a pro-choice organization that endorsed President Obama during the last election.

“In one case, the IRS withheld approval of an application for tax exempt status for Coalition for Life of Iowa. In a phone call to Coalition for Life of Iowa leaders on June 6, 2009, the IRS agent ‘Ms. Richards’ told the group to send a letter to the IRS with the entire board’s signatures stating that, under perjury of the law, they do not picket/protest or organize groups to picket or protest outside of Planned Parenthood,” the Thomas More Society announced today. “Once the IRS received this letter, their application would be approved.”
Most have assumed that the obstructionism on the application from conservative groups came because the IRS assumed that they would get involved in politics, but the laws on 501(c)4s don’t prohibit that, as Mary Katharine explained yesterday. Their purpose and work has to be primarily for “social welfare,” but that can take on any number of forms.

In this case, though, there wasn’t even a pretense of suspicion about electioneering. If this is true, then the IRS was actively attempting to intimidate a pro-life group into curtailing its perfectly legal activism. In fact, protests against Planned Parenthood by this group would be exactly the kind of “social welfare” protected by an exemption. This not only infringed on the group’s free-speech rights, but also its religious liberty, at least indirectly."

Obama Calls-In The Marines...To Shield Him From Rain

2013-05-16T23:29:00.000-04:00

The optics of this are horrible. Who thought this would be a good idea, a good back up incase it rained?

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Elon Musk's SpaceX Continues to Grow Despite the Slow Economy

2013-05-16T23:24:00.000-04:00

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IRS Official in Charge During Tea Party Targeting Now Runs IRS Office Responsible For ObamaCare

2013-05-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

I am sure she will not abuse this position though...

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/irs-official-in-charge-during-tea-party-targeting-now-runs-health-care-office

"The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation.

Sarah Hall Ingram served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012. But Ingram has since left that part of the IRS and is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office, the IRS confirmed to ABC News today.

Her successor, Joseph Grant, is taking the fall for misdeeds at the scandal-plagued unit between 2010 and 2012. During at least part of that time, Grant served as deputy commissioner of the tax-exempt unit.

Grant announced today that he would retire June 3, despite being appointed as commissioner of the tax-exempt office May 8, a week ago.
As the House voted to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act Thursday evening, House Speaker John Boehner expressed “serious concerns” that the IRS is empowered as the law’s chief enforcer."

Feds Push Insane New Speech Codes!

2013-05-16T23:18:00.000-04:00

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Obama IRS Scandal Uncovers the Ugly Side of Income Taxes

2013-05-16T23:11:00.000-04:00

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Colonizing Mars: The Future Belongs to SpaceX and Elon Musk

2013-05-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

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Obama's Statement on The IRS Scandal

2013-05-15T23:58:00.000-04:00

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Every Donation From IRS Cincinnati Office in 2012 Election Cycle Went to Democrats

2013-05-15T23:53:00.000-04:00

Anyone still want to argue this was not political?

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/15/open-thread-obama-to-address-irs-scandal-at-6-p-m-et

"Tim Carney looks at the donations records for IRS employees in Cincinnati and finds a lesson about big government. Whether or not the White House was handing down directives, when federal power is as broad as it is now, partisan abuse by cogs in the state’s machinery is inevitable. Smoking gun?

In the past three election cycles, the Center for Responsive Politics’ database shows about $474,000 in political donations by individuals listing “IRS” or “Internal Revenue Service” as their employer.

This money heavily favors Democrats: $247,000 to $145,000, with the rest going to political action committees. (Oddly, half of those GOP donations come from only two IRS employees, one in Houston and one in Annandale, Va.)

IRS employees also gave $67,000 to the PAC of the National Treasury Employees Union, which in turn gave more than 96 percent of its contributions to Democrats. Add the PAC cash to the individual donations and IRS employees favor Democrats 2-to-1.

The Cincinnati office where the political targeting took place is much more partisan, judging by FEC filings. More than 75 percent of the campaign contributions from that office in the past three elections went to Democrats. In 2012, every donation traceable to employees at that office went to either President Obama or liberal Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
As someone noted on Twitter in response to Carney’s post, if you’ve made your career working in government — especially at the IRS — you have a heavy political interest in protecting the party of big government."

Obama Accepts Resignation of Acting IRS Commissioner Who's Assignment Ended Next Month Anyways

2013-05-15T23:49:00.000-04:00

He will not, or at least should not, be the last head to roll.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325223/Obama-fires-acting-IRS-commissioner-pressure-grows-surrounding-political-targeting-conservative-groups-sought-tax-exempt-status.html

"President Barack Obama has thrown his acting IRS commissioner overboard, making Steven Miller the highest-ranking political casualty thus far in a series of scandals that have swept his administration in recent weeks.

In a hastily called press conference in the East Room of the White House, Obama told reporters that he had asked Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to find out who was responsible for a program that targeted tea party groups and other conservative organizations for a special level of intrusive questioning after they applied for tax-exempt charitable statuses.

'Lew took the first step by requesting and accepting the resignation of the acting director of the IRS,' Obama said.
'It’s important,' he added, 'to institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward.'

But in an email to IRS employees, Miller claimed he would only be leaving next month because his assignment would be over.

'It is with regret that I will be departing from the IRS as my acting assignment ends in early June,' Miller wrote. 'This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation’s tax agency.',"

IRS Scandal Involved Officials at The Highest Levels

2013-05-15T23:44:00.000-04:00

So that is what they meant with 'a few low level employees'...

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/lerners-name-on-irs-letter-to-conservative-group-91373.html

"The director of the Internal Revenue Service division under fire for singling out conservative groups sent a 2012 letter under her name to one such group, POLITICO has learned.

The March 2012 letter was sent to the Ohio-based American Patriots Against Government Excess (American PAGE) under the name of Lois Lerner, the director of the Exempt Organizations Division.

Lerner, who is based in Washington, on Friday apologized for the agency singling out groups based on search terms such as “tea party” and “patriot.” Internal documents from the Treasury Department inspector general shows that Lerner and other top officials at the agency were aware of the targeting of conservative groups in 2011.

This appears to be the first public documentation that Lerner’s name is on a letter seeking information from a conservative group. Other letters to groups reviewed by POLITICO have come from IRS offices in California, Ohio and Washington, D.C."