Judicial Watch Obtains IRS Documents Revealing McCain’s Subcommittee Staff Director Urged IRS to Engage in “Financially Ruinous” Targeting

McCain minority staff director Henry Kerner to IRS official Lois Lerner and other IRS

officials: “the solution is to audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous”

 

Judicial Watch

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released newly obtained internal IRS documents, including material revealing that Sen. John McCain’s former staff director and chief counsel on the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee, Henry Kerner, urged top IRS officials, including then-director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner, to “audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous.”  Kerner was appointed by President Trump as Special Counsel for the United States Office of Special Counsel.

The explosive exchange was contained in notes taken by IRS employees at an April 30, 2013, meeting between Kerner, Lerner, and other high-ranking IRS officials. Just ten days following the meeting, former IRS director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner admitted that the IRS had a policy of improperly and deliberately delaying applications for tax-exempt status from conservative non-profit groups.

Lerner and other IRS officials met with select top staffers from the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in a “marathon” meeting to discuss concerns raised by both Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that the IRS was not reining in political advocacy groups in response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.  Senator McCain had been the chief sponsor of the McCain-Feingold Act and called the Citizens United decision, which overturned portions of the Act, one of the “worst decisions I have ever seen.”

In the full notes of an April 30 meeting, McCain’s high-ranking staffer Kerner recommends harassing non-profit groups until they are unable to continue operating. Kerner tells Lerner, Steve Miller, then chief of staff to IRS commissioner, Nikole Flax, and other IRS officials, “Maybe the solution is to audit so many that it is financially ruinous.” In response, Lerner responded that “it is her job to oversee it all:”

Henry Kerner asked how to get to the abuse of organizations claiming section 501 (c)(4) but designed to be primarily political. Lois Lerner said the system works, but not in real time. Henry Kerner noted that these organizations don’t disclose donors. Lois Lerner said that if they don’t meet the requirements, we can come in and revoke, but it doesn’t happen timely. Nan Marks said if the concern is that organizations engaging in this activity don’t disclose donors, then the system doesn’t work. Henry Kerner said that maybe the solution is to audit so many that it is financially ruinous. Nikole noted that we have budget constraints. Elise Bean suggested using the list of organizations that made independent expenditures. Lois Lerner said that it is her job to oversee it all, not just political campaign activity.

Judicial Watch previously reported on the 2013 meeting.  Senator McCain then issued a statement decrying “false reports claiming that his office was somehow involved in IRS targeting of conservative groups.”   The IRS previously blacked out the notes of the meeting but Judicial Watch found the notes among subsequent documents released by the agency.

Judicial Watch separately uncovered that Lerner was under significant pressure from both Democrats in Congress and the Obama DOJ and FBI to prosecute and jail the groups the IRS was already improperly targeting. In discussing pressure from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat-Rhode Island) to prosecute these “political groups,” Lerner admitted, “it is ALL about 501(c)(4) orgs and political activity.”

The April 30, 2013 meeting came just under two weeks prior to Lerner’s admission during an ABA meeting that the IRS had “inappropriately” targeted conservative groups.  In her May 2013 answer to a planted question, in which she admitted to the “absolutely incorrect, insensitive, and inappropriate” targeting of Tea Party and conservative groups, Lerner suggested the IRS targeting occurred due to an “uptick” in 501 (c)(4) applications to the IRS but in actuality, there had been a decrease in such applications in 2010.

On May 14, 2013, a report by Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration revealed: “Early in Calendar Year 2010, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax-exempt status” (e.g., lists of past and future donors). The illegal IRS reviews continued “for more than 18 months” and “delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications” in advance of the 2012 presidential election.

All these documents were forced out of the IRS as a result of an October 2013 Judicial Watch Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the IRS after it failed to respond adequately to four FOIA requests sent in May 2013 (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service (No. 1:13-cv-01559)). Judicial Watch is seeking:

• All records related to the number of applications received or related to communications between the IRS and members of the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate regarding the review process for organizations applying for tax exempt status under 501(c)(4);
• All records concerning communications between the IRS and the Executive Branch or any other government agency regarding the review process for organizations applying for tax exempt status under 501(c)(4);
• Copies of any questionnaires and all records related to the preparation of questionnaires sent to organizations applying for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.
• All records related to Lois Lerner’s communication with other IRS employees, as well as government or private entity outside the IRS regarding the review and approval process for 501 (c)(4) applicant organizations.

“The Obama IRS scandal is bipartisan – McCain and Democrats who wanted to regulate political speech lost at the Supreme Court, so they sought to use the IRS to harass innocent Americans,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Obama IRS scandal is not over – as Judicial Watch continues to uncover smoking gun documents that raise questions about how the Obama administration weaponized the IRS, the FEC, FBI, and DOJ to target the First Amendment rights of Americans.”

IRS Finds 6,924 Documents Related to Obama Tea Party Targeting — Two Years After FOIA Request

Image via reclaimourrepublic.wordpress.com

 

Gateway Pundit

The Obama IRS targeted over 400 conservative groups for intrusive scrutiny.

The IRS Conservative Targeting Scandal involved: ◾Hundreds of conservative groups were targeted ◾At least 5 pro-Israel groups ◾Constitutional groups ◾Groups that criticized Obama administration ◾At least two pro-life groups ◾An 83 year-old Nazi concentration camp survivor ◾A 180 year-old Baptist paper ◾A Texas voting-rights group ◾A Hollywood conservative group was targeted and harassed ◾Conservative activists and businesses ◾At least one conservative Hispanic group ◾IRS continued to target groups even after the scandal was exposed ◾10% of Tea Party donors were audited by the IRS ◾And… 100% of the 501(c)(4) Groups Audited by IRS Were Conservative

That’s not all… A Congressional report revealed 10% of Tea Party donors were audited by the IRS. This is 10 times more often than regular Americans.

Now after two years of stalling the IRS finally has located 6,924 documents related to the scandal.

(Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com …

H/T

A Simple But Urgent Reminder — and a suggestion

Free Republic

I wish to remind everyone, that before his election, Barack Obama said: “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded [as the military].”

And five days before his election, he added, “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

Recall, too, that under Obama, the Federal government weaponized many federal agencies, including the IRS, VA, and yes, the EPA.

Not to mention the infamous rumors of the purchase of 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security.

We need to make sure that these agencies are returned to peaceful status.

Can someone suggest to President Trump, that all the surplus equipment and ammunition (including hollow point rounds, which I believe are not used by the military) be auctioned off — or better yet, donated as a gesture of goodwill to Tea Party and Militiamen groups, as a sort of token apology for the Obama administration calling them “terrorists” ?

In the meantime, there are scads of leftists who have been calling for the death of certain high-ranking people who just won the election; coupled with riots, and with beatings of people who voted “the wrong way” all over the country. Why doesn’t that count as terrorism?

Incidentally, these riots are being funded by George Soros — who, by the way, was himself a Nazi collaborator.

Speaking of “Literally Hitler.”

It’s time to make government accountable again. And that starts with disarming agencies which have no legitimate need of stockpiles of weaponry.

Judicial Watch: FBI Investigation Documents of IRS Scandal

Judicial Watch

 

Reveal Top Washington IRS Officials Knew About Targeting of “Tea Party” Groups Two Years Before Disclosing it to Congress and Public

FBI interview with IRS senior official reveals: “he thought the cases were being pulled based upon political affiliations”

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released 294 pages of new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “302” documents revealing that top Washington IRS officials, including Lois Lerner and Holly Paz, knew that the agency was specifically targeting “Tea Party” and other conservative organizations two full years before disclosing it to Congress and the public.  An FBI 302 document contains detailed narratives of FBI agent investigations.  The Obama Justice Department and FBI investigations into the Obama IRS scandal resulted in no criminal charges.

The FBI 302 documents confirm the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) 2013 report that said, “Senior IRS officials knew that agents were targeting conservative groups for special scrutiny as early as 2011.” Lerner did not reveal the targeting until May 2013, in response to a planted question at an American Bar Association conference.  The new documents reveal that then-acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller actually wrote Lerner’s response: “They used names like Tea Party or Patriots and they selected cases simply because the applications had those names in the title. That was wrong, that was absolutely incorrect, insensitive, and inappropriate.”

IRS “Security” Program Can’t Stop $3.1 Billion Scam

JUDICIAL WATCH

While it’s absorbed persecuting law-abiding conservative groups the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can’t seem to stop crooks from scamming it to the tune of several billion dollars in one year alone via bogus tax refunds. It’s the latest of many transgressions at the agency that’s doubled as an Obama administration tool to crack down on political adversaries.

A special IRS security feature called Taxpayer Protection Program (TPP) couldn’t prevent criminals from scamming the agency out of an eye-popping $3.1 billion in one year, according to a federal audit. TPP was implemented to curb an epidemic of identity theft that allows criminals to fraudulently get tax refunds. Supposedly, identity theft fraud is reduced through a verification process but the federal probe, conducted by the investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), found serious loopholes. “TPP uses single-factor authentication procedures that incorporate one of the following authentication elements: ‘something you know,’ ‘something you have,’ or ‘something you are,'” the GAO report states. “TPP’s single-factor authentication procedures are at risk of exploitation because some fraudsters obtain the PII (personally identifiable information) necessary to pass the questions asked during authentication.”

As a result thousands of bogus filers get refunds from the IRS annually, possibly more, the GAO probe found. In fact, investigators determined that the IRS may have doled out an undetermined amount of money to an unknown number of fraudsters so the true figure will never be known. This has been going on for years and the IRS has spent a chunk of change trying to combat it to no avail. In fiscal year 2015 the agency dedicated more than 4,000 full-time employees and spent about $470 million to combat refund fraud and identity theft, the GAO reports. The Obama administration requested an additional $90 million and 491 full-time employees for fiscal year 2017 to reduce improper payments as if throwing more money at the problem will solve it. The reality is that this is part of a much broader security issue at the tax agency. Earlier this year the IRS Inspector General confirmed that hackers gained unauthorized access to 724,000 taxpayer accounts, illustrating that its system is incredibly vulnerable.

The latest GAO audit exposes just one of a multitude of problems at the feared tax agency. Judicial Watch has reported extensively on IRS scandals over the years and has been a leader in uncovering the sordid details of the agency’s witch hunt of conservative groups. Judicial Watch has obtained damaging government records that show the IRS illegally colluded with another federal agency to crack down on conservative nonprofit groups during the 2012 election cycle. The IRS director at the center of the scheme, Lois Lerner, not only broke agency rules-as well as the law-to target conservative organizations, she also lied to Congress in an effort to cover up the wrongdoing.

Judicial Watch has also been a leader in reporting other IRS wrongdoing that’s been largely ignored by the mainstream media. This includes allowing prison inmates to fraudulently receive tens of millions of dollars in tax refunds and illegal immigrants billions by letting them improperly claim tax credits they don’t qualify for. Last summer an embarrassing federal audit exposed the IRS for awarding dozens of tax-delinquent companies with millions of dollars in government contracts. During a two-year period the IRS awarded 57 contracts worth nearly $19 million to 17 corporations that owed federal taxes during that period. This actually violated a 2012 federal law called the Consolidated Appropriations Act prohibiting government agencies from using appropriated funds to enter into a contract with a company that has certain federal tax debt or felony convictions.

As if this weren’t bad enough, IRS employees have been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in government benefits, including food stamps, welfare and housing vouchers. IRS employees have also been singled out in various government probes as the federal workers with the highest number of tax delinquents that received bonus pay. A few years ago a federal audit revealed that at the IRS alone, staff members with violations received close to $3 million in awards on top of their regular government salary. Some got the extra cash despite being cited for using drugs, making violent threats, fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits and misusing government credit cards.

Read more: Family Security Matters http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/irs-security-program-cant-stop-31-billion-scam?f=must_reads#ixzz4EHRnJD6f
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

IRS Rewrites Identity Theft Law to Aid and Abet Illegal Immigrants

Independent Sentinel

The IRS was never anyone’s favorite agency but it is now so corrupt and politicized, it not only targets opponents, it is charged with essentially rewriting law. The IRS allows illegal immigrants to file false tax returns with false identifying information as long as it’s for jobs and the IRS can collect taxes.

These are likely the same illegal immigrants who collect child tax credits and get all the money they paid into the system back when the year ends.

Senator Dan Coates of Indiana asked IRS Commissioner John Koskinen during a Senate Finance Committee why the IRS is allowing illegal immigrants to use fraudulent W-2 information for the purpose of refunds.

“What we learned is that … the IRS continues to process tax returns with false W-2 information and issue refunds as if they were routine tax returns, and say that’s not really our job,” Coats said. “We also learned the IRS ignores notifications from the Social Security Administration that a name does not match a Social Security number, and you use your own system to determine whether a number is valid.”

Koskinen made it clear that the IRS is helping the illegal immigrants break the law.

“What happens in these situations is someone is using a Social Security number to get a job, but they’re filing their tax return with their [taxpayer identification number].” What that means, he said, is that “they are undocumented aliens … . They’re paying taxes. It’s in everybody’s interest to have them pay the taxes they owe.”

Since they use the identity theft to get jobs, the IRS has unlawfully decided it isn’t identity theft.

“The question is whether the Social Security number they’re using to get the job has been stolen. It’s not the normal identity theft situation,” Koskinen said.

The IRS also doesn’t care if they are using the fraudulent identities of people they know. That’s apparently okay.

“There are questions about whether there’s a way we could simply advise people… . A lot of the time those Social Security numbers are borrowed from friends and acquaintances and they know they’ve been used, other times they don’t.”

You can listen to Koskinen on this link.

Clinton Foundation time bomb may explode on November 16

American Thinker

The read of the day today is a long article by Ken Silverstein at Byline.com explaining the hole the Clinton Foundation is in over amending its IRS filings.  You see, the slush fund has a lot of ‘splainin to do, and:

Last April, Clinton Foundation acting CEO Maura Pally acknowledged “mistakes” in its tax filings and promised they would be corrected by November 16.

There are potential felonies involved:

[I]t will be difficult if not impossible for the foundation to amend its financial returns without acknowledging accounting fraud and admitting that it generated substantial private gain for directors, insiders and Clinton cronies, all of which is against the law under an IRS rule called inurement.

While inurement may sound obscure to the layman, it’s an ancient legal principle and the IRS is very clear that it is verboten. If you are familiar with it, it becomes immediately clear that Bill Clinton – and arguably Hillary and daughter Chelsea as family members and fellow Clinton Foundation trustees – could have big problems come November 16. So, too, could Clinton cronies like Ira Magaziner (see below) and Doug Band, a Clinton administration and former Foundation insider who subsequently became a founding partner of a bipartisan business swamp called Teneo Holdings.

 

Judicial Watch: New Documents Reveal DOJ, IRS, and FBI Plan to Seek Criminal Charges of Obama Opponents

Judicial Watch

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released new Department of Justice (DOJ) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents that include an official “DOJ Recap” report detailing an October 2010 meeting between Lois Lerner, DOJ officials and the FBI to plan for the possible criminal prosecution of targeted nonprofit organizations for alleged illegal political activity.

The newly obtained records also reveal that the Obama DOJ wanted IRS employees who were going to testify to Congress to turn over documents to the DOJ before giving them to Congress. Records also detail how the Obama IRS gave the FBI 21 computer disks, containing 1.25 million pages of confidential IRS returns from 113,000 nonprofit social 501(c)(4) welfare groups  – or nearly every 501(c)(4) in the United States – as part of its prosecution effort. According to a letter from then-House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, “This revelation likely means that the IRS – including possibly Lois Lerner – violated federal tax law by transmitting this information to the Justice Department.”

IRS Produces Recovered Lerner Emails

JUDICIAL WATCH

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch released 906 pages of newly recovered Lois Lerner emails from the IRS that are believed to recently have been recovered by the IRS’ internal watchdog – the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The IRS released the emails under a court order by U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan.  The new documents show that Lois Lerner and other top officials in the Exempt Organizations Unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including soon-to-be Acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller, closely monitored and approved the controversial handling of tax-exempt applications by Tea Party organizations.  The documents also show that at least one group received an inquiry from the IRS in order to buy time and keep the organization from contacting Congress.

At July 1, 2015, status conference, Judge Sullivan ordered the IRS to begin producing, every week, the nearly 1,800 newly recovered Lois Lerner emails responsive to Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.   Despite the court order, the IRS did not produce any Lois Lerner emails until July 15.  The IRS also failed to provide Judicial Watch a status report of the Lois Lerner email production issues, as also ordered by Judge Sullivan.  Last week, Judge Sullivan ordered sua sponte the parties to appear for a status hearing for tomorrow (July 29) shortly after Judicial Watch raised concerns about the IRS’ failure to comply with his orders to release the newly discovered Lerner emails and status updates on its production of previously “missing” documents.

Mr. President, you are a g****m liar.

 

Flopping Aces

Barack Obama is a fundamentally dishonest man. I have stated here repeatedly that I believe him to be a sociopath– not unlike Frank Underwood in House of Cards and I am more convinced of it every time Obama speaks. His endless lying about the ACA is the stuff of legend but what really stands out is his sheer audacious mendacity. When asked if he mislead the country about the ACA, Obama said unequivocally:

“No. I did not.”

Barack Obama is a bald faced liar.  And he just can’t stop. The other night Obama appeared on the TV show of his water boy Jonathan Stewart. In the “interview” Obama blamed Congress for the IRS targeting conservative groups:

President Obama last week blamed the targeting scandal not on poor management but on “crummy” legislation he said Congress passed that gave his employees confusing instructions, and on funding cuts. He said the IRS wasn’t able to do its best work as a result.

Moreover, he called them “stupid.”