As DOJ Investigation of IRS Stalls, President Obama Looks to Curb Non-Profits

Several months have passed since taxpayers found out that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had been engaging in the political targeting of non-profit groups based simply on their ideology and now two major developments have put this scandal back into the spotlight. In case a refresher is needed, in May of this year, it was revealed that systematic targeting of non-profits by IRS officials in Cincinnati,Ohio was ongoing for what turned out to be political purposes. The inappropriate and possibly criminal targeting of non-profit groups had been happening under the knowledge officials in Washington, D.C., not just Cincinnati. An Inspector General’s report detailed that the IRS Agents selectively targeted nearly 500 groups simply for political reasons, completely disregarding the standards and guidelines that have been clearly laid out for these processes. Fast forward to last week, as two new tidbits into this continuing story became available to the public: the lack of any investigation into the possible illegal activity at the IRS; and the call for a troubling new set of rules on non-profits designed to hinder political speech.

In a disappointing week for those concerned with the amount of power the IRS has over individuals and the fact they have clearly abused that power to the point where public confidence in the agency has cratered, it was made apparent that the Department of Justice has been slow-walking their investigation into what exactly happened regarding the political targeting of groups seeking tax-exempt status. Patrick Howley of The Daily Caller detailed the lack of any contact from DOJ to any of the groups involved in a class-action lawsuit:

More than half a year after the IRS targeting scandal broke in May, federal investigators have still not contacted any of the 41 conservative groups represented in the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) lawsuit against the IRS.

Though the FBI and IRS both launched investigations into the wrongdoing, and Eric Holder’s Justice Department vowed to cooperate with the FBI probe, none of these agencies has contacted the ACLJ’s clients to figure out what happened.

The list of words that can be used to describe this are endless, but TPA has just one: INEXCUSABLE. The fact of the matter is that the Department of Justice is obviously not doing their job. There are more than forty groups that are a part of this lawsuit and for not a single one to be contacted by the agency in charge of getting to the bottom of what exactly happened in this scandal is beyond any comprehension of accountability. President Obama vowed that those responsible would be held “fully accountable” during a news conference in May.

Unfortunately, the outrage the President had regarding the scandal has since worn off as he has moved to give the IRS even more power to curtail political speech. Just as tax-filing season creeps upon all of us, there is a new push to enact additional and restrictive regulations aimed at the very types of groups that were the subject of targeting for political purposes. Citing a ‘lack of clarity’ over the term political activity, the IRS wants to put in a new term, candidate-related political activity. The goal would seemingly be to specify what certain groups can and can’t do regarding political activity/speech. While proponents claim that this would prevent future targeting of groups based on ideology, Bradley A. Smith notes in National Review Online that the exact opposite is going on and summarizes the reason the proposed rule changes that should give pause to anyone who cherishes political speech and opposes selective application of the law:

“What the Left is now trying to do is to broaden the definition of political activity so that more groups fall under Section 527 of the Code as political-action committees. Then the government can force them to disclose their donors, paving the way for both official and unofficial retaliation.”

Initial reaction to this announcement drew some skepticism from House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.).  Rep. Camp detailed his thoughts in a written statement expressing his concern for this abrupt move from the beleaguered agency saying that, “There continues to be an ongoing investigation, with many documents yet to be uncovered, into how the IRS systematically targeted and abused conservative-leaning groups. This smacks of the administration trying to shut down potential critics.”

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance renews its calls for all emails between the DC and Cincinnati IRS offices to be released to the public, even as new emails recently released detail the connection between high-level officials and the targeting of non-profits. The proposed rule changes appear to be nothing more than a brazen attempt to use the regulatory power of agencies to bypass the legislative process, which seems to be a key hallmark of this administration. TPA will continue to follow the developments on this scandal and the looming battle over the proposed rule changes.