CONGRESS REPORTS: IRS Too Dumb To Be Non-Partisan

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has issued a report that says the IRS is too dumb to be non-partisan.  They said this, not in so many words, but that appears to be the gist of the report.

The report says that the IRS staff heard their boss, Barack Obama, bullying conservatives, calling conservative groups "...'shadowy' entities with 'innocuous' and 'benign-sounding' names that 'are running millions of dollars of attack ads against Democratic candidates'..."  And then the IRS, upon hearing this and other Presidential condemnations of his critics, decided to target Conservatives and Tea Party groups for special repressive measures.

The report says specifically:

"...President Barack Obama--a highly celebrated speaker noted for his oratory--exerts this power with uncommon vigor. President Obama's ability to command the rapt attention of the national news media, and by extension the American people, has become his most effective and favored rhetorical tool.  With his Bully Pulpit, President Obama wields the power to singlehandedly shape the national dialogue.  In this case, President Obama's Bully Pulpit led to the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative tax-exempt applicants..."

The report specifies:

"...In the months after the President's State of the Union Address, he kept up the [negative] rhetorical assault as he railed against the decision [Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission] in campaign-style speeches across the country.  In these speeches, the President called conservative groups 'shadowy' entities with 'innocuous' and 'benign-sounding' names that 'are running millions of dollars of attack ads against Democratic candidates.'  Calling them 'phony' and 'front groups,' the President urged a 'fix' to the Citizens United decision, which he believed allowed these nefarious groups to 'pose' as nonprofits.  The President's allies in Congress and elsewhere echoed this call, working aggressively to delegitimize the Court's decision and Constitutional protections for non profit political speech..."

The report raises some very crucial and critical questions.  First, obviously, IRS employees appear to not be required, upon being hired, to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and to protect the nation against enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Additionally the intelligence quotient of IRS employment candidates appears to not be calculated into the hiring process.

We are invited to conclude the following:

"...Put simply, as the President's political rhetoric drove the national dialogue and shaped public opinion, the IRS received and responded to the political stimuli..."

According to this reasoning, the robo-paths at the IRS obviously are incapable of independent, responsible, thought, and are incapable of being accountable for horrific Constitutional violations. To wit:

"... A review of evidence available to the Committee substantiates this conclusion.  In February 2010, the IRS identified and elevated the initial conservative tax-exempt applications due to concerns about media attention surrounding the Tea party.  Likewise in September 2010, in response to an article in a tax-law journal, former IRS official Lois Lerner initiated a 'c4 project' to assess the political activity of certain nonprofits..."

Isn't that just peachy?

"...In October 2010, after reading news reports that nonprofits were becoming increasingly active in political speech following [the Supreme Court Decision] Citizens United, the Justice Department arranged a meeting with the IRS to discuss the decision's effect on campaign finance law.  Most tellingly, Lerner [then head of the IRS non-profit section] talked in October 2010 about political pressure on the IRS to 'fix the problem' posed by Citizens United, saying that 'everyone is up in arms' about the decision and that 'everybody is screaming at [The IRS] right now: 'fix it now before the election.'..."

The report says that defenders of the IRS (principally Democrats) have sought to downplay the IRS wrongdoing:

"...For it to be scandal, they said, the President himself must be personally involved.  For it to merit attention, they argued, the White House must have ordered the targeting.  For the public outrage to be warranted, these Democrats alluded, there must be a direct link from the Oval Office to the IRS.  Hiding behind these straw men, the defenders of the Obama Administration claimed that the absence of a direct order to target conservatives necessarily meant that there was no political element to the IRS targeting..."

The conclusion?

"...The Committees investigation shows that the IRS targeting was political. It was political in both its genesis and its effect.  The IRS targeting was the result of political pressure on the agency to 'fix the problem' of nonprofit political speech.  This political pressure was generated by campaign-style rhetoric from President Obama and his allies in opposition to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision  and so-called 'shadowy' groups 'posing' as nonprofits.  As a result of the IRS targeting, hundreds of tax exempt applicants were singled out for scrutiny on undeniably political grounds--that is, they intended to engage in political speech...

The report stresses a "...rhetorical barrage orchestrated by the President to delegitimize Citizens United and vilify the conservative nonprofit groups the White House feared would be helped by it..."

The report says that "...it is apparent that the IRS targeting of conservative tax-exempt applicants initiated and progressed in the context of intense political pressure led by the President for action on politically active nonprofits.  It is beyond dispute that the President's political rhetoric contributed to IRS efforts that resulted in the IRS's targeting of conservative tax-exempt groups because of their political beliefs..."  But it does not address the inadequacies of IRS staff and their fault in failing to uphold Constitutional law, Constitutional protections, and their oath of office.  Nor does the report hold accountable the IRS employees responsible for those failures.

While it is clear that their boss certainly targeted his critics, IRS employees are supposed to be above the fray; they are supposed to be non-partisan.  When, up and down the chain of command, not one of them steps forward to be the adult in the room, the patriot, the upholder of the Constitution, that agency is compromised and must be dismantled at once, and another agency put in its place.  The IRS is mandated by a Constitutional amendment, but nowhere in its establishment were violations of our founding documents authorized, condoned or sanctioned, nor are there clauses or articles that set aside the Constitution in order for it to exist.  If there are, then the Constitution by default must prevail.

Today, however, it is not enough to minimally withhold funds from such a despicable agency that so egregiously rips apart our Constitutional fundamentals. It must be stripped of any authority and function from the inside out, and a more effective income collecting entity put in its place that does not penalize citizens or their production.

The President's minions are more interested in keeping their jobs safe, rather than upholding our Constitution, and must face the consequences.  The agency must be replaced, and if another is put in its place, it must be devoid of any power of repression.

Texans Not Waiting For Obama To Secure Border

Texas Governor Rick Perry is not holding his breath waiting for help from Obama's feds to secure the Texas border against a veritable invasion of illegal aliens...

In a media dispatch yesterday the governor's office announced that Rick Perry, along with David Dewhurst, the Texas Lt. Governor, and Joe Straus, the Lone Star State's Speaker of the House, had directed the Texas Department of Public Safety "...to immediately begin law enforcement surge operations on the Texas-Mexico border to combat the flood of illegal immigration into the state in the absence of adequate federal resources to secure the border. State leaders have authorized DPS to fund border security operations at approximately $1.3 million per week..."

Perry says Texas can't afford to wait for Washington to act on this crisis and that we "...will not sit idly by while the safety and security of our citizens are threatened...Until the federal government recognizes the danger it's putting our citizens in by its inaction to secure the border, Texas law enforcement must do everything they can to keep our citizens and communities safe..."

The Texas Lt. Governor was no less forceful than Perry. Dewhurst said:
"...The federal government has abdicated its responsibility to secure the border and protect this country from the consequences of illegal immigration, but as Texans we know how to lead in areas where Washington has failed... Last year DPS conducted Operation Strong Safety and achieved astounding results. Crime rates related to drugs, cartels, transnational gangs, and illegal border activity plummeted because of the resources we allocated to stop illegal entry at the border. It's time to make this type of presence on the border permanent..."

According to the Governor's office calculations, The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (USCBP) has apprehended more illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley in the first eight months of the current federal fiscal year (over 160,000) than it did for all of fiscal year 2013 (154,453). In May 2014 alone, USCBP reported apprehending more than 1,100 illegal immigrants per day in the Rio Grande Valley.  "...This year, like last year, more than half of the individuals apprehended at the Texas-Mexico border by USCBP are from countries other than Mexico. Additionally, 34,000 unaccompanied alien children (UAC) have been apprehended in Texas so far this year, with estimates that number will reach 90,000 by the end of the fiscal year. By comparison, 28,352 UAC were apprehended in fiscal year 2013..."

In a communique to the Director of the Department of Public Safety, Colonel Steven C. McCraw, Texas officials directed the DPS to plan and execute a surge operation of increased law enforcement in Texas border counties.  They said: "...You are authorized to utilize all existing appropriated funds toward this operation...To the extent necessary, we will utilize our authority as governor and as co-chairs of the Legislative Budget Board to facilitate adjustments to the DPS budget until next session.  The cost for this operation will need to be addressed by the next legislature in the supplemental appropriations bill..."

The Texas Governor said on Tuesday that the immigration crisis is "... an absolute overflowing mess..."  He appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity telling him that "...there has been some success in shutting down illegal activities with these immigration surges, but the states just don’t have the resources for this situation..."

On Hannity Perry said, "...Number one, it’s not the state’s responsibility to be dealing with this issue. We’re doing our part to make sure we can keep our citizens as safe as we can. But the federal government is just absolutely failing. We either have an incredibly inept administration or they’re in on this somehow..."

The immigration fiasco was described by Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, also on "Hannity" (on Monday): "...You talk about the Border Patrol, they’re too busy changing diapers and not going after dope peddlers and illegal immigrants,” Arpaio said. “I think the president knew this was going to happen, so it’s going to help him on his executive orders if Congress doesn’t take this mission up. And it might backfire. It might backfire because of the inhumane situation..." That was an echo of a report on "The Kelly File," that reported, "...The crisis at the southern border is worsening by the day, as we heard on The Kelly File that almost half of Border Patrol agents are off patrols because they're need to do paperwork. There are not enough agents to handle the enormous influx of illegal immigrant children that have to be cared for at processing centers..."


CBS quoted Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar from Laredo on June 8, "...if you’re just looking at the lower Rio Grande Valley we’re getting about 1,200 people a day. Over 70 percent of them are not from Mexico but from other places and 300 to 400 of them are young people coming in without parents...Almost 40 percent of the Border Patrol Agents are not at the border they’re actually filling out paperwork, transporting, feeding, moving these folks around..."

Texans are initiating their efforts with the understanding of the magnitude of the problem.

Texas officials told the DPS director:  "...Clearly, committing more of your resources will not end the humanitarian issues on the border, nor is it a complete solution to what is ultimately a federal responsibility. But the professional law enforcement resources at the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) can reduce crime, ensure the safety of Texas citizens and support the strained resources of local law enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection..."

IRS Sends FBI "Protected" Tax Payer Info In Violation Of Federal Law

BEHIND ENEMY LINES:

A set of 21 disks that had been transmitted to the FBI by the IRS under the direction of senior IRS official Lois Lerner, contains a 1.1 million page database of  501(c)(4) tax exempt organizations, that includes legally protected taxpayer information that should not ever been sent to the FBI.

This is according to House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrel Issa, who said in a media dispatch that this is a breach of federal law.

The dispatch says that after the Justice Department turned over the database to the Oversight Committee this month in response to a subpoena, the Justice Department says it was informed by IRS officials that it contains legally protected taxpayer information that should not have ever been sent to the FBI and it now plans to return the full database to the IRS.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Subcommittee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, write:

"...We are aghast to learn that the Justice Department worked with the IRS to assemble a massive database of nonprofit groups, and that this database included confidential taxpayer information that the Department is not authorized to possess ... The creation of such an illicit and comprehensive registry by federal law-enforcement officials is concerning in and of itself.  Yet, the creation of a registry at the same time that the Department considered possible investigatory steps against nonprofit groups engaged in political speech is alarming.  This evidence is a clear indication that the Justice Department took affirmative steps to examine nonprofit groups engaged in otherwise lawful political speech...”

The Congressmen point out in the letter to Holder that the Oversight Committee is "...aware of multiple conflicts of interest in the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into the targeting of conservatives at the IRS..." and that "... At this time, there are apparent conflicts of interest in the Public Integrity Division of the DOJ, the FBI as well as the Civil Division..." leading Issa and Jordan to reiterate their call for a special prosecutor.

Say Issa and Jordan:

"...Additionally, the revelation that the Justice Department worked with the IRS to compile a massive database of nonprofit information, including confidential taxpayer information, further undermines the integrity of the Department’s investigation of the IRS targeting.  The Committee has already obtained information that the Civil Rights Division attorney leading the investigation has an apparent conflict of interest.  Now we know that the other two Justice Department components involved in the investigation – the Public Integrity Section and the FBI – also have serious conflicts of interest stemming from their interaction with Lois Lerner in October 2010.  For these reasons, we reiterate the overwhelmingly bipartisan position of the House of Representatives that the appointment of a special counsel is warranted to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing...”

Issa and Jordan state:

"...We are also concerned by the manner in which this information was transmitted from the IRS to the Justice Department.  Section 6103 of the federal tax code protects confidential taxpayer information from unauthorized disclosure. Thus, the IRS transmittal of confidential information to the FBI in October of 2010 apparently violated federal law.  In addition, the Department's disclosure that the information on he disks was protected by section 6103 occurred subsequent to a letter from Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik in which he expressed the Department's 'understanding' that the 21 disks contained publicly available information..."

Now the Committee wants from the Justice Department:

1.       All documents and communications between or among employees of the Department of Justice and employees of the Internal Revenue Service referring or relating to the 21 disks of nonprofit information transmitted from the Internal Revenue Service to the Justice Department on or around October 6, 2010;

2.       All documents and communications between or among employees of the Department of Justice and employees of the Internal Revenue Service referring or relating to the production of the 21 disks of nonprofit information to the Committee on June 2, 2014; and

3.       All documents and communications between or among employees of the Department of Justice and employees of the Internal Revenue Service referring or relating to the discovery of confidential taxpayer information protection by I.R.C. § 6103 on the 21 disks of nonprofit information produced to the Committee on June 2, 2014.

While the process of investigation has been slow, significant incriminating information has emerged from Congressional sleuthing, and as criminal wrongdoing is alleged, investigators face continual stonewalling and evasion from Obama administration department officials and personnel.

It is clear that Obama continues to use the power and force of government to attack his political opponents.  All the more reason for patriots to continue to relentlessly expose the truth and take political action to effect much needed change.

Do you think the Justice Department will be forthcoming with the information requested by Issa and Jordan?

IRS "Loses" Lerner Emails; Congressman Says He'll Get Them From NSA "Metadata" Surveillance

//Behind Enemy Lines

The IRS said today it can't turn over Lois Lerner's emails, because their computer crashed. That has raised the ire of many, including you and I, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrel Issa, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp.

Camp says "...The fact that I am just learning about this, over a year into the investigation, is completely unacceptable and now calls into question the credibility of the IRS’s response to Congressional inquiries.  There needs to be an immediate investigation and forensic audit by Department of Justice as well as the Inspector General..."

Rightfully so, he's really put off by this, and says:

"...Just a short time ago, Commissioner Koskinen promised to produce all Lerner documents.  It appears now that was an empty promise.  Frankly, these are the critical years of the targeting of conservative groups that could explain who knew what when, and what, if any, coordination there was between agencies.  Instead, because of this loss of documents, we are conveniently left to believe that Lois Lerner acted alone.  This failure of the IRS requires the White House, which promised to get to the bottom of this, to do an Administration-wide search and production of any emails to or from Lois Lerner.  The Administration has repeatedly referred us back to the IRS for production of materials.  It is clear that is wholly insufficient when it comes to determining the full scope of the violation of taxpayer rights...”

According to Camp, the The IRS claims it cannot produce emails written only to or from Lerner and outside agencies or groups, such as the White House, Treasury, Department of Justice, FEC, or Democrat offices.

House Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany Jr., is also weighing in:

"...In the course of the Committee's investigation, the Administration repeatedly claimed we were getting access to all relevant IRS documents. Only now - thirteen months into the investigation - the IRS reveals that key emails from the time of the targeting have been lost.  And they bury that fact deep in an unrelated letter on a Friday afternoon.  In that same letter, they urge Congress to end the investigations into IRS wrongdoing. This is not the transparency promised to the American people.  If there is no smidgeon of corruption what is the Administration hiding?..."

Darrel Issa says its more of the same from the IRS and the Obama administration:

"...Isn’t it convenient for the Obama Administration that the IRS now says it has suddenly realized it lost Lois Lerner’s emails requested by Congress and promised by Commissioner John Koskinen?  Do they really expect the American people to believe that, after having withheld these emails for a year, they’re just now realizing the most critical time period is missing? Congressional oversight has revealed that the IRS has –potentially illegally– shared confidential taxpayer information with the FBI and lost crucial email records even as the agency continues to withhold information by not fully complying with the Committee’s subpoena. Left to the IRS’ own preferences, the White House would still be retelling the lie that this was all about mismanagement confined to a local office.  The supposed loss of Lerner’s emails further blows a hole in the credibility of claims that the IRS is complying with Congressional requests and their repeated assurances that they’re working to get to the truth. If there wasn’t nefarious conduct that went much higher than Lois Lerner in the IRS targeting scandal, why are they playing these games?...”

But Representative Steve Stockman from Texas appears to have a solution.  He wants all the meta data files from the NSA on Lois Lerner.

Isn't that just a beaut?

According to a Stockman statement, his request comes just hours after the IRS claimed it “lost” all of Lerner’s emails to or from Lerner and outside agencies or groups during that period, in which she allegedly coordinated with the White House, House Democrats and political groups to harass and deny tax-exempt status to groups critical of the President.   Stockman says:

"...I have asked NSA Director Rogers to send me all metadata his agency has collected on Lois Lerner’s email accounts for the period which the House sought records...The metadata will establish who Lerner contacted and when, which helps investigators determine the extent of illegal activity by the IRS...The claim incriminating communications were erased by a glitch conjures memories of Rose Mary Woods... Barack Obama has brought us Jimmy Carter’s economy and Richard Nixon’s excuses.

[Rose Mary Woods was the Nixon White House Secretary that claimed "...responsibility in a 1974 grand jury testimony for inadvertently erasing up to five minutes of the 181⁄2 minute gap in a June 20, 1972, audio tape. Her demonstration of how this might have occurred – which depended upon her stretching to simultaneously press controls several feet apart (what the press dubbed the "Rose Mary Stretch"[4]) – was met with skepticism from those who believed the erasures, from whatever source, to be deliberate. The contents of the gap remain a mystery..."  (Wikepedia)  The audio tape was part of the Watergate Investigation evidence.]

What do you think the NSA will do?