IRS Admits Targeting Obama Opponents
Yes, even paranoids have enemies, very real, very dangerous, very powerful enemies.
The Internal Revenue Service is apologizing for inappropriately flagging conservative political groups for additional reviews during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status.Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt groups, said organizations that included the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their applications for tax-exempt status were singled out for additional reviews.
My liberal friends and colleagues think conservatives and libertarians are paranoid. Little do they understand that it’s only paranoia if they AREN’T out to get you.
UPDATE: Here are the IRS excuses reported by WaPo reporter Zach Goldfarb:
The senior IRS official briefing the press just said: “I’m not good at math.”
In her defense, the IRS official, explained: “I’m a lawyer.”
The operative question to the IRS official is: What is one-quarter of 300?
You know, for a government of supposedly intelligent people they sure are pretty stupid.
UPDATE: The Washington Post is reporting things are much worse than the initial story above…
At various points over the past two years, Internal Revenue Service officials targeted nonprofit groups that criticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution, according to documents in an audit conducted by the agency’s inspector general.
The documents, obtained by The Washington Post from a congressional aide with knowledge of the findings, show that on June 29, 2011, IRS staffers held a briefing with senior agency official Lois G. Lerner in which they described giving special attention to instances where “statements in the case file criticize how the country is being run.” Lerner, who oversees tax-exempt groups for the agency, raised objections and the agency revised its criteria a week later.
Update: Contrary to initial reports AP is reporting the acting head of the IRS Steven Miller knew about conservative groups being targeted and lied to Congress denying they were.
Anyone wondering what life was like in the Nixon years, well this is what it was like.
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