The latest update on the IRS scandal from Judicial Watch (see the 10 minute video)

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 strong reader interest

From judicialwatch.org :  JW President Tom Fitton believes that top IRS officials, including IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, may be in legal peril due to their undisclosed knowledge of IRS hard drive destruction.

“It’s that refusal to tell Congress in a timely way about the loss of evidence that raises all sorts of legal questions, both criminal and civil, about the obstruction of the Congressional investigation and the failure to provide information to a subpoena that puts people like the IRS Commissioner and other officials who knew about this document destruction and loss at risk legally.”

However, Fitton is not convinced that the congressional investigation will yield answers given the IRS’s “contempt” for the congressional process since its commencement.

“Unless you have an independent criminal inquiry…we’re not going to get answers to this. I don’t trust the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel. There is no way Eric Holder wants to do this – he is as politicized an Attorney General as anyone we have ever seen in that office.”

Fitton highlights the importance of independent investigations, pointing out that it was most likely because of JW’s underlying FOIA litigation that, back in February, the IRS “discovered” that the emails had been “lost” in the first place.

As Democrats play the defense of their administration and Republicans seek out answers, deadlock is inevitable unless Congress changes its investigation proceedings.

“Congress has shown itself time and time again unable to get the truth from this administration – that’s why you need independent investigations, a special counsel, and a different approach from Congress in terms of its own investigations.”

Lerner is not the only headache for the Obama Administration, but it is a serious problem for Obama and a devastating issue for the IRS, itself.

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moderate interest

Bernie Becker / The Hill:   

IRS: Lerner emails may exist after all  —  The IRS might not have lost the backups of former agency administrator Lois Lerner's emails after all, according to a top IRS official.  —  In testimony released Monday, Thomas Kane, the IRS's deputy associate chief counsel, told House Oversight investigators …

Editor's notes:  Honestly,  is anyone surprised?  Even just a little?  Experts have been telling us for months,  "The emails are there,  somewhere."  And why the headline  . . . . .  now  . . . . .  after all the denials and misinfromation?  Because the IRS has been taken to court in two different venues, and the two, no-nonsense judges,  are requiring testimony under oath.  Of course,  the courts can throw people in jail if they continue the same degree of stonewalling and lies that have been typical to the Obama defense of the IRS. 

These crooks and liars,  obviously,  believe it is better for them to begin their   retreat,  now,  that having to deal with a court reprimand that is sure to dominate the headlines.   

Did you know the IRS is appearing in court, today, defending against a suit brought by the patriots at Judicial Watch? Stay tuned.

Update:  the federal court just ordered the IRS to prepare written testimony under oath.  

Dear Friend,

The IRS will have to appear in federal court today after a federal judge ordered the agency to appear in response to our request that the IRS be required to explain to the court, to Judicial Watch and to you and the American people -- what happened to Lois Lerner's emails that they recently told Congress were "lost" but failed to notify Judicial Watch or the court about it.

U.S. District Court 
Civil Docket for Case #:1:13-cv-01559-EGS

Date:        Thursday, July 10
Time:        11 a.m. ET
Location:  Courtroom 24A
                U.S. District Court
                333 Constitution Ave., N.W.
                Washington, D.C.

These emails could be critical to getting to the bottom of the IRS scandal where Tea Party and other conservative group applications were illegally delayed by the IRS.  In addition, Lois Lerner had communicated with Department of Justice officials to see if it was possible to prosecute these groups!

You may remember, it was a Judicial Watch lawsuit that first uncovered "smoking gun" evidence that broke wide open this scandal.  And once again, Judicial Watch is causing action that is bringing the IRS before a court of law to explain their actions.

Only Judicial Watch is getting the information that the media and Congress can't, or won't get! 

Only Judicial Watch has a track record of holding government officials accountable to the law. 

Will you make your best tax-deductible contribution to Judicial Watch right now to help us carry out our fight today in court -- and continue carrying out our investigation and lawsuits until we get to the truth about the IRS scandal?  Will you help us fight the government lawyers in court today? Your donation of $15, $50 or even $100 will really help out.  And if you can afford a donation of $250, $500, $1,000 or even more, you can be sure we will put it good use in our work to uncover the truth and hold these IRS bureaucrats accountable to the law.

Thank you. 



Tom Fitton 
President

Trey Gowdy eviscerates the new IRS Commission and takes that arrogant smile from his condescending face. This is the best 5 minutes you, as a Conservative Patriot, will have spent in years. A video you simply must listen to. (5 minutes of pure joy).

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Eviscerate:  to disembowel a human or animal;  to deprive of its essential content.  

Update:  What is incredible is that this arrogant jerk of a commissioner actually said,  "all of the emails have been turned over when two years of emails  (65,000) are missing.  If the reader cannot see the conflict in that,  well,  she must be a Democrat.  

The reader can go to 3:50 and listen to Gowdy set up the commissioner for a critique of Obama's statement, "There isn't a smidgen of corruption."  The commission did not see it coming,  and  BAM !!!  ,  there it was.  Beautiful.  

A timeline for Lois Learner "transgressions" direct from the House Ways and Means Committee. Someone show this to Bob Beckel at Fox News.

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January 21, 2010: 
Citizen’s United Ruling :  Supreme Court issues ruling in Citizens United case, which would lead to an active campaign by Democrats against conservative groups – a campaign Lerner was well aware of and reacted to.

January 27, 2010:  
President Obama Goes on the Attack :  In his State of the Union address, President Obama states: “With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections.  I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.”

March-April 2010:  
IRS Targeting Begins :  According to TIGTA, the IRS’s Determinations Unit “began searching for other requests for exemption involving the Tea Party, Patriots, 9/12 and IRC § 501(c)(4) applications involving political sounding names, e.g., 'We the People' or 
'Take Back the Country.'"

September 26, 2010: 
White House Steps Up Attacks:  David Axelrod, then-senior advisor to President Obama, referred to Crossroads GPS and similar groups as “front groups for special interests. These are front groups for foreign-controlled companies, which would have been banned under the bill that we put through Congress, and they don't want the American people to know, and the American people ought to be alert to that."

October 12, 2010: 
Democrat Leaders Join Attack:  Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin urges the IRS to investigate the tax status of Crossroads GPS and “other orgs” – though no other organizations were named.  

October 19, 2010: 
Lerner on Alert:  Speaking to students at Duke University, Lois Lerner states that 501(c)(4) organizations were spending money on campaign activity in the wake of the Citizens United decision and claimed, “[E]verybody is screaming at us, ‘fix it now before the election….”

February 2011: 
Lerner Calls Conservatives “Dangerous,” Start to Take Control:  Lois Lerner sends email to IRS employees “Tea Party Matter very dangerous ….Cincy should probably NOT have these cases.” 

March 24, 2011: 
Democrats Step Up Attacks :  DCCC launches website to “expose donors of Crossroads GPS.” 

June 3, 2011:     
Congressional Inquiries Begin: Chairman Camp sends letter to Commissioner Shulman inquiring about IRS targeting of taxpayers who donated money to conservative groups, as well as information regarding audits of 501(c)(4) organizations.

June 19, 2012: 
White House Continues to Attack:  President Obama’s lawyer demands that Crossroads GPS disclose its donors, saying in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission that the group is plainly a “political committee” subject to federal reporting requirements.

February 1, 2012: 
Democrats Continue to Attack :  National Public Radio reports that Senate Democrats, led by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), want to investigate groups such as Crossroads GPS.

July 10, 2012:    
Lerner’s Mindset Revealed :  Lois Lerner, in response to a story sent to her regarding the complaint to the FEC against Crossroads GPS replies “Perhaps the FEC will save the day.” 

July 17, 2012:     
Lerner Starts to Prepare Cover Story : Lerner sent an email to Holly Paz and Nikole Flax offering comments on a talking point that referred to an “uptick in political advocacy cases,” drafted for then-Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement Steve Miller.  However, Lerner admits that, “I know we don't have published SOI stats” to support such a claim." [See letter to DOJ]

July 27, 2012:   
Democrats Attack, Again :  Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) sends another letter to the IRS regarding Crossroads GPS and others, seeking a probe and status. 

December 14, 2012:     
IRS Leaks :  Crossroads GPS’s application is leaked to ProPublica, though the tax-exempt status of the group had not been determined, a violation of federal law.   

November 2, 2012:   
Lerner Misleads TIGTA : Lerner sends misleading response to TIGTA investigatory audit questionnaire. [See letter to DOJ]

January 4, 2013:  
Lerner Leaps Into Action :  Lerner organizes a meeting with Democracy 21 and also with the Office of Chief Counsel and the Office of Tax Policy at the Department of the Treasury for January 4.  This begins a series of specific actions by Lerner that targets only conservative groups. [See letter to DOJ]

January 4, 2013: 
Lerner Pressures Review Committee :  Lerner inquires to the status of Crossroads, and finds that the group had not been selected for audit.  She subsequently sent an email to the Director of Examinations in Dallas, TX, Nanette Downing, demanding to know why the group had not yet been audited.  In her email to Downing, she notes that she wants all moves regarding Crossroads to be coordinated in DC. [See letter to DOJ]

January 24, 2013:     
Lerner Ponders Job for Obama Organization : In response to a news story about the formation of the President’s Organizing For Action, a 501(c)(4), Lerner remarked to EO Senior Technical Advisor Sharon Light, “Oh—maybe I can get the DC office job!” [See letter to DOJ]

January 31, 2013:     
Lerner Attempts to Influence Independent Appeals Process :  In an email to the Chief of IRS Appeals, Chris Wagner, Lerner offers unsolicited advice on the independent appeals process notwithstanding a prohibition against such contact. [See letter to DOJ]

May 10, 2013:      
Lerner Misleads Public :  At an American Bar Association function, Lois Lerner, director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division, publicly apologizes for what she claimed were inappropriate actions by the Cincinnati office of the IRS to subject conservative groups to extra scrutiny. 

See the full Ways and Means report, here.  

Turns out NO liberal groups were targeted by the IRS, If we win back the Senate, all investigations will intensify 10 fold.

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Editor's notes:  I am want to blame Obama for everything.  I think he is a micro-manager in some areas,  but know that he is far to casual to be considered a leader,  in so many other venues.  This just might be one of those venues.  From the testimony I have read,  Lois Lerner has been targeting conservative groups for nearly a decade.  If ever the "b" word applies,  this woman deserves the title.  

It does appear that Obama knew what she was doing (more than 100 visits to WH are recorded by Lerner and her IRS buds,  during 2010 - 2012) and he approved (obviously), which makes him a compliant "co-conspirator."  

The most critical number in this report,  is the fact that the libs have given up with their claim that both lib and conservative groups were targeted.  Over the past several weeks,  the "six liberal groups" trageted by the IRS has vanished from the headlines.  No one is making that claim, now.  

The second and even more critical fact,  is that the IRS CONTINUES its harassment of conservatives,  to this day and in spite of the ongoing investigation.  Again, "obviously," the IRS does not fear the DOJ and Obama's puppet,  Eric Holder.  

In fact,  If the GOP wins back the Senate and keeps the House,  current investigations (IRS, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the deaths of 17 Navy Seals in Afghanistan,  targeted because Joe Biden identified them as the unit killing Osama - run for president,  Joe,  please run), will intensify,  10 fold.  

******

The Obama IRS Scandal involves:

** At least 292 conservative groups targeted
** At least 5 pro-Israel groups targeted
** Constitutional groups targeted
** Groups that criticized Obama administration were targeted
** At least two pro-life groups targeted
** A Texas voting-rights group was targeted
** Conservative activists and businesses were targeted.
** At least 88 IRS agents were involved in the targeting scandal
** At least one conservative Hispanic group was targeted
** No liberal groups suffered the same type of scrutiny from the IRS – Not one
** Conservative groups to this day continue to be targeted by the IRS

Now we find out that shady Lois Lerner, the far left former director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations unit, was using her private email account for government business.
This is also against the rules.
The Corner reported:

Embattled Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner sent official documents from her government e-mail address to a personal account, according to House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa and his colleague, Ohio congressman Jim Jordan.

“This raises some serious questions concerning your use of a non-official e-mail account to conduct official business,” the GOP lawmakers wrote in a letter to Lerner demanding all documents from her non-official account for the period between January 2008 and the present. “Additional documents related to the Committee’s investigation may exist in these non-official accounts over which you have some control, and the lack of access to this information prevents the Committee from fully assessing your actions,” they explained. Issa and Jordan are requesting that Lerner produce the documents by August 27.

The use of personal e-mail accounts to conduct government work also has the potential to impede federal-records requests by the public because personal accounts are not archived by the government. Controversy erupted, for example, over former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson’s use of a government account under the name Richard Windsor which, like a personal account, would not be captured by records requests relating to Jackson.

Lerner, the former director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations unit, was placed on administrative leave in late May after refusing to resign her post.

___________________

Source material for this report taken from Gateway Pundit, here,  and,  the hyperlinks provided.

The IRS scandal is, now, only about politics, since no one on the Left cares about "criminal federal activity," . . . . . . . until the GOP gets back in power, that is.

Cummings is the ranking minority member of this committee.  He complains about not having a voice on this committee (which is so much BS,  of course). If the tables were turned and Obama was heading the committee,  he would have told the complainant,  "Want things to be different?  Try winning an election."  After all,  that is what this clown told a complaining John McCain,  on one occasion.   Ditto to this CBC (Caustic Black Caucus) member.

Obama called out for perjuring himself during the O'Reilly interview. You'll love it. The man (Gowdy) should run for president. (see the 3 min video).

We are looking at the weaponization of the Federal Government against the people of the United States. 

Updated for this brief commentary:   Understand two things:  One, Trey Gowdy is a member of the House subcommittee currently investigating the IRS targeting scandal and, two,  he has Hussein Obama's claim to Bill O'Reilly on Sunday, that the IRS has been investigated more than once,  that these investigation are over (!!),  that nothing similar to "corruption,"  exists within the IRS  -  not even a "smidgen" of corruption.

Gowdy is sitting before a woman called to testify,  who started a "protect the vote" group (True the Vote),  and was subsequently audited twice,  her business was audited twice,  she was "visited" by the ATF on two separate occasions, OSHA once, and,  most incredibly,  had to deal with the stinking FBI on 6 occasions,  all of this since she started her group,  in Texas;  all of this since 2012.

Rather than being concerned for this woman,  the Democrats on the committee,  argued that all of this, all 13 "visits" from the Federal Government,  was just a coincidence,  that she was just being paranoid.

What seems to get ignored in all this is the fact that this targeting scandal is ON GOING,  that the thugs in the FBI,  IRS and the ATF are still working hand in hand to harass and intimidate any who dare stand against this rogue Administration.  Out of 113 institutions asking for 501-C3 status from the IRS,  106 were conservative,  7 "liberal,"  with all liberal groups being approved while none of the 106 have been granted their requests.