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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Mon Mar 10, 2014 9:19 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I watched C-SPAN yesterday and there was a united Democratic front crossing race and gender lines denouncing Issa. Issa violated the rules of the committee by not allowing the minority side to speak as each speaker is allowed 5 minutes.
Issa released a report to the press and had yet to release it to the Democrats on his committee. Issa had been in communication with the witness and her attorney and failed to share that information. The attorney proffer could have been read into the record and answered questions. Instead Issa ignored that we are in a democracy and the Democrats learned about the communications at the meeting. Cummings has been an attorney for almost 40 years . Issa was afraid of being called out about his duplicity.
The Republicans have one mission and that is an attempt to discredit the President. This investigation has cost over $14 million and has yet to produce any evidence to justify it's continuing.
It was brought up that each week the House of Representatives meet it costs $24 million. And yet we only see the same old tired bills trotted out and no progress towards the issues facing the nation. For example they just voted for the 50th time to repeal Obamacare and lost again. Our nation deserves better than this. |
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Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:33 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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How can you get evidence when the perps plead the 5th. Give her immunity from prosecution and put her in witness protection and ill bet she sings like a sparrow. Your right the nation does deserve better then the lying cheating arrogant Obama regime and his stupid obamacare. as far as the whining black caucus dude he is just there to run cover and try to stifle the proceedings for Barryo period. Good for Issa putting him in his place.
Just a reminder what obamas America looks like.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/refused-pot-money-son-sets-fire-356871 |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Mon Mar 10, 2014 3:55 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Issa slams Lois Lerner in report on IRS targeting - The Washington ...
23 hours ago ... Rep. Darrell Issa issued scathing conclusions Tuesday about Lois Lerner's involvement in the Internal Revenue Service's scrutiny of advocacy ...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/issa |
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Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:43 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Issa slams Lois Lerner in report on IRS targeting
By Josh Hicks, Published: March 11 E-mail the writer
Rep. Darrell Issa issued scathing conclusions Tuesday about Lois Lerner’s involvement in the Internal Revenue Service’s scrutiny of advocacy groups.
The California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a 141-page report saying Lerner “led efforts to scrutinize conservative groups while working to maintain a veneer of objective enforcement.” He also accused her of obstructing the oversight committee’s investigation and misleading Congress.
The panel is considering whether to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about the IRS’s screening methods.
Lerner’s attorney, William Taylor, denied Tuesday that his client plotted against the groups.
“As we have said, the majority has no interest in the facts,” Taylor said. “The facts interfere with keeping the conspiracy theory alive through the election cycle. It would be interesting to know who with any knowledge of the facts says Ms. Lerner did these things. There is not such a person.”
E-mails in Issa’s report show that Lerner discussed launching a project to ensure that nonprofit advocacy groups complied with tax law, but they show no explicit directions to focus on conservative organizations.
An inspector general’s audit in May said that the IRS had wrongly targeted nonprofit groups but found no evidence of political motivation. It faulted mismanagement and a lack of clear directions for handling applications.
Issa’s report said Lerner was trying to undermine the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.
“The Supreme Court dealt a huge blow, overturning a 100-year-old precedent that basically corporations couldn’t give directly to political campaigns, and everyone is up in arms because they don’t like it,” Lerner said at a Duke University forum in 2010. “The Federal Election Commission can’t do anything about it. They want the IRS to fix it.”
Issa said Lerner made “false or misleading statements” to the panel by denying in February 2012 that the IRS changed its screening criteria and by saying the agency’s review methods did not exceed its usual standards.
The IG’s audit found that Lerner ordered her division to alter the screening criteria in June 2011 because they focused too much on groups’ policy positions. It also determined that the agency overreached in seeking donor information from nonprofit groups.
Other IRS officials told the panel they could not remember such previous donor requests.
Last week, Lerner refused for a second time to answer the committee’s questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment rights.
A frustrated Issa adjourned the hearing without input from Democrats, angering the ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.). Issa cut off Cummings’s microphone but later apologized.
Cummings criticized Issa’s conclusions Tuesday, saying: “While there is certainly evidence of mismanagement at the IRS, this partisan Republican staff report identifies absolutely no evidence to support the central Republican allegations in this investigation — that the White House directed this activity or that it was politically motivated.”
Lerner retired in September. |
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Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:48 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| I saw the memos that Issa used to support his position. There was no smoking gun! |
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Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:51 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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ROLL CALL
Republicans Block Democratic Attempt to Force Public Issa Apology on House Floor (Updated) (Video)
By Matt Fuller, Emma Dumain, and Steven Dennis
Posted at 6:02 p.m. on March 13
DCbuildings 007 120213 445x289 Republicans Block Democratic Attempt to Force Public Issa Apology on House Floor (Updated) (Video)
(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Updated 8:12 p.m. | Republicans once again blocked a Democratic resolution demanding a House floor apology from Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa for silencing Rep. Elijah E. Cummings last week during an IRS hearing.
The nearly party line vote to table the privileged resolution came after a theatrical display of protest on the floor, with Democrats refusing to give up on the issue.
“This was not just a violation of Mr. Issa’s treatment of Mr. Cummings,” said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., a freshman lawmaker who introduced the resolution on Thursday. “My resolution was about Mr. Issa’s offense against the House.”
“If we don’t enforce the rules,” Kildee said, “where do we go?”
As Kildee and his Democratic colleagues offered the resolution, they defiantly held pictures of Issa making the throat-cutting motion, displaying the image on iPads, iPhones and paper. A floor procedure kerfuffle, in which a new House precedent may have been established, ensued.
Presiding officer Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, insisted that that “House will not proceed” as long as Democrats continued to hold up their iPads displaying the image.
“Regular order would be putting the iPads down,” Simpson said.
When Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., made a parliamentary inquiry as to where in the House rules it stated members could not hold up iPads, Simpson said the ruling was at the discretion of the chair.
Democrats moaned, but eventually, begrudgingly, put down their iPads and iPhones. (Rules Committee ranking Democrat Louise M. Slaughter quietly held up her phone even after Simpson’s ruling.)
Members continued holding up the pictures that Democrats had printed out, but Simpson wasn’t having that either.
The presiding officer declared that “only the member under recognition can hold up the display,” and eventually, after the theatrics and rules were settled, the Democrats put down their pictures and offered the resolution.
Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., promptly moved to table it, both sides screamed a voice vote, a roll call vote was ordered, and the House voted 217-173 in favor of tabling the resolution, with six Republicans and four Democrats voting present. (The present votes came from the nine members of the Ethics Committee and Issa. The Ethics Committee may yet have to consider the issue.)
(On Thursday evening, a spokesman for Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, reiterated Boehner’s continued support for Issa.)
One Democrat, Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, voted with Republicans in favor of tabling.
While Democrats offered the resolution, Cummings quietly sat separated from his Democratic colleagues beside Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va. As the vote took place, Cummings quickly and quietly slipped out of the chamber.
Issa already apologized personally to Cummings, the ranking member of Issa’s panel, last week, and Cummings accepted the apology.
But that’s not enough for many of Cummings’ colleagues.
“Ranking Member Cummings accepted Chairman Issa’s apology, but it is clear that the Chairman has violated House rules and seriously offended a lot of other Members of Congress in the process, and they are not satisfied with the way he is conducting the committee,” a Democratic committee aide told CQ Roll Call.
Democrats could continue to offer similar resolutions, trying to grab more headlines and increasingly paint Issa as a chairman tyrant, but Republicans look poised to just as quickly shelve the resolutions and move on.
Fellow Oversight and Government Reform Committee colleague Gerrold Connolly, D-Va., hopes Democrats continue to press the issue.
“Even if Elijah didn’t want us to do this, this is on behalf of the institution,” Connolly told CQ Roll Call after the vote, adding that he hopes House GOP leaders ultimately decide to push Issa to make amends publicly.
“He privately apologized to Mr. Cummings, then went on Fox News and accused him of having a ‘hissy fit,’” Connolly said. “How sincere was that apology?”
(The “hissy fit” interview was pretaped before the apology, Issa’s office noted last week.)
The House voted on party lines to shelve another resolution condemning Issa’s conduct last week.
Here’s the text of the resolution provided via email by Democratic aides:
PRIVILEGED RESOLUTION AGAINST THE OFFENSIVE ACTIONS
OF CHAIRMAN DARRELL E. ISSA
Whereas on March 5, 2014, during a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa gave a statement and then posed ten questions to former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner, who stated that she was invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to testify;
Whereas the Committee’s Ranking Member, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, clearly sought recognition to take his turn for questions under Committee and House Rules;
Whereas, Chairman Issa then unilaterally adjourned the hearing and refused to allow him to make any statement or ask any questions;
Whereas Ranking Member Cummings protested immediately, stating: “Mr. Chairman, you cannot run a Committee like this. You just cannot do this. This is, we are better than that as a country, we are better than that as a Committee.”
Whereas, Chairman Issa then returned and allowed Ranking Member Cummings to begin his statement, but when it became clear that Chairman Issa did not want to hear what Ranking Member Cummings was saying, turned off Ranking Member Cummings’ microphone, ordered Republican staff to “close it down,” and repeatedly signaled to end the hearing with his hand across his neck;
Whereas Ranking Member Cummings objected again, stating: “You cannot have a one-sided investigation. There is absolutely something wrong with that.”;
Whereas Chairman Issa made a statement of his own and posed questions during the hearing, but refused to allow other members of the Committee, and in particular the Ranking Member who had sought recognition, to make statements under the five-minute rule in violation of House Rule XI;
Whereas Chairman Issa instructed the microphones be turned off and adjourned the hearing without a vote or a unanimous consent agreement in violation of Rule XVI because he did not want to permit Ranking Member Cummings to speak;
Whereas Chairman Issa’s abusive behavior on March 5 is part of a continuing pattern in which he has routinely excluded members of the Committee from investigative meetings, has turned off Members’ microphones while they were questioning a witness, attempted to prevent witnesses from answering questions, and has provided information to the press before sharing it with Committee members;
Whereas on July 18, 2003, former Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Bill Thomas (R-CA) asked the United States Capitol Police to remove minority members of the Committee from the library where they were having a discussion about a pending committee mark up, and subsequently came to the well of the U.S. House of Representatives to publicly apologize for his belligerent behavior;
Whereas Chairman Issa has violated Clause 1 of Rule XXIII of the Code of Official Conduct which states that “A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer or employee of the House shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House”: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives strongly condemns the offensive and disrespectful manner in which Chairman Darrell E. Issa conducted the hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 5, 2014, and requires that he come to the well of the House to issue a public apology to Members of the House. |
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Fri Mar 14, 2014 7:04 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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House Votes Down Democrats 'Privileged Resolution' To Force Issa ...
12 hours ago ... Darrell Issa to formally apologize on the House floor after he cut off the microphone ... Dan Kildee, Michigan Democrat, effectively killing it. ... 70 Facts About Our Economy Obama Doesn't Want You To See « Pat Dollard on 70 ...
patdollard.com/2014/03/house-votes-down-democrats-privileged-resolution-to-force...
Darrell Issa Slithers Out Of Punishment By Apologizing For Cutting ...
6 days ago ... After top House Democrats submitted a formal resolution calling for a vote of condemnation ... Issa needs to apologize to the American people for his behavior . .... By the way had to write you back with a name like Bette Davis.
www.politicususa.com/2014/03/07/darrell-issa-slithers-punishment-apologizing-cut...
Darrell Issa apologizes to Elijah Cummings - John Bresnahan ...
Mar 6, 2014 ... Darrell Issa has apologized to the top Democrat on the Oversight and ... Democrats want to expand voting, Republicans want to restrict it.
www.politico.com/story/2014/03/darrell-issa-elijah-cummings-104398.html
GOP Rep. Issa confronted and chastised by angry House Democrats
5 hours ago ... Issa apologize for his behavior and be removed as Chair of the ... Through it all, Issa has acted like a tin-plated, overbearing dictator with ...
www.addictinginfo.org/2014/03/14/house-dems-demand-issa-apology/ |
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Fri Mar 14, 2014 7:08 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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House votes down resolution to force Issa to apologize
By David Sherfinski
The Washington Times
Thursday, March 13, 2014
House Republicans beat back a push from Democrats Thursday to force Rep. Darrell Issa to formally apologize on the House floor after he cut off the microphone of the top Democrat on the oversight committee last week during a heated hearing.
The House voted 217-173 to table the “privileged resolution” introduced by Rep. Dan Kildee, Michigan Democrat, effectively killing it. Ten members voted “present.” The vote follows last week’s defeat of a similar resolution to censure Mr. Issa.
The “privileged resolution” called on Congress to “strongly condemn the offensive and disrespectful manner” in which Mr. Issa, a California Republican, has conducted oversight committee business and would have required him to issue a formal apology from the well of the House.
“Chairman Issa’s abusive behavior on March 5 is part of a continuing pattern in which has routinely excluded members of the Committee from investigative meetings, has turned off Members’ microphones while they were questioning a witness, attempted to prevent witnesses from answering questions, and has provided information to the press before sharing it with Committee members,” the resolution read.
In the hearing, Mr. Issa had recalled former IRS employee Lois Lerner to try to make her testify about her role in the IRS’s targeting of tea party groups for special scrutiny.
After Ms. Lerner refused to answer 10 separate questions, citing her right against self-incrimination, Mr. Issa gaveled the hearing closed.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s top Democrat, asked to be recognized and Mr. Issa said he would entertain a question, but when Mr. Cummings began a statement criticizing the IRS investigation, Mr. Issa had the microphones cut and left the room.
Mr. Cummings has recently circulated a legal analysis and said it appears that Mr. Issa’s conduct during the hearing voided the possibility of holding Ms. Lerner in contempt of Congress, which some in the GOP are weighing as an option.
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said Thursday that he and House counsel “reject the premise of Mr. Cummings‘ letter.”
“I do not agree with that analysis in any way, shape or form,” Mr. Boehner said. “I’ve made clear on more than one occasion that Ms. Lerner should either testify or be held in contempt.”
In the March 12 letter to Mr. Boehner outlining the legal arguments, Mr. Cummings also wrote that Mr. Issa called him to apologize last Thursday and that he accepted the apology.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/13/house-votes-down-resolution-force-issa-apologize/#ixzz2vwF84Syo
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter |
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Fri Mar 14, 2014 7:16 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) during a hearing on Capitol Hill, on Jan. 16, 2014 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty
Cummings blasts Issa for ‘reckless claims’
04/09/14 10:26 AM—Updated 04/09/14 12:39 PM
By Amanda Sakuma
Tensions between Reps. Elijah Cummings and Darrell Issa are flaring once again over the GOP’s insistence on investigating discredited scandals.
Cummings, a Maryland Democrat and the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, berated his Republican adversary during a press conference Wednesday for “relentlessly pursuing non-existent scandals for political purposes.”
Citing a laundry list of press reports calling out Issa for stretching the truth in casting the fallout of the terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya, as a supposed conspiracy, Cummings said Issa’s “reckless claims” were an embarrassment to Congress.
Cummings accused Issa slinging of “McCarthyism” by dragging out months-long investigations not only into Benghazi, but also the IRS’ alleged plot targeting political groups.
In a report to committee Democrats, obtained by Politico, Cummings likened the committee chair to the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, who was notorious in his aggressive witch hunt targeting alleged communists during the Cold War.
“We oppose Chairman Issa’s efforts to recreate the Oversight Committee in Joe McCarthy’s image, and we reject his attempts to drag us back to that shameful era in which Congress tried to strip away the constitutional rights of American citizens under the bright lights of hearings that had nothing to do with responsible oversight and everything to do with the most dishonorable kind of partisan politics,” the report said, according to Politico.
The dust-up between the congressmen came to a head last month during a hearing delving into the alleged IRS scandal. Issa refused to allow Democrats to speak at the hearing, but when Cummings pressed forward to address the panel, Issa cut his mic mid-sentence. The flare-up emboldened Democrats to come out against Issa, who later apologized for his actions.
House Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee opposed a closed-door meeting Wednesday meant to lay the groundwork in formally asking the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into Lois Lerner, the former IRS official at the center of the firestorm.
Rep. Sandy Levin, ranking Democrat on the committee, asked to make the session open to the public, NBC News reports. His efforts were rejected after Chairman Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican, called for a vote to close the meeting to press. The vote passed along party lines, NBC reports, in the Republican-led committee. |
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Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:53 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Darrell Issa Wants Elijah Cummings To Disclose Talks With Lois Lerner’s Attorney
April 6, 2014
Via Washington Examiner
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asked the panel’s top Democrat to disclose communications between his office and the lawyer for former IRS official Lois Lerner, who faces contempt charges before the committee.
In a letter to ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Issa said it was vital for him to share what he learned from interviewing her attorney, William W. Taylor III.
The panel is investigating Lerner — who headed the Exempt Organizations division of the agency when it controversially targeted conservative groups — and will vote on contempt charges on the grounds that she has refused to cooperate with the probe.
“As you know, Mr. Taylor’s position with regard to Ms. Lerner’s willingness to cooperate with the committee has changed several times,” Issa wrote. “So that all members of the committee can have a better understanding of Mr. Taylor’s current position, please disclose any communications that you or your staff have had with Mr. Taylor.”
Lerner has refused to answer questions about IRS targeting, using her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Reports have suggested that Lerner may seek immunity from the panel before agreeing to speak.
Republicans, though, say that Lerner waived her right to remain silent when she made a statement denying any wrongdoing, and charge that she is trying to delay the investigation.
Issa questioned if last-minute talks on immunity were more than just another stalling tactic and asked Cummings to share his discussions with Taylor. |
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Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:58 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Issa embraces McCarthy-era tactics
04/10/14 03:42 PM
The Rachel Maddox Blog
By Steve Benen
Once in a while, when Democrats refer to Republican tactics as “McCarthyite,” they’re being literal.
As part of the ongoing effort to make the discredited IRS “scandal” interesting, the House Oversight Committee voted to today to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress. Every Republican on the panel voted for it; every committee Democrat voted against it.
But in a situation like this, the details matter. Lerner was called to testify 11 months; she said she had done nothing wrong; but she invoked her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination in response to lawmakers’ questions. Lerner was called back to the committee two months ago and she again took the Fifth.
Republicans are now targeting the former IRS official, saying she should be prosecuted for pleading the Fifth. The last time this came up? The era of Joe McCarthy and his notorious witch hunts.
According the records retrieved by the Congressional Research Service, no American has been successfully prosecuted for invoking their Fifth Amendment rights before Congress.
Congress brought contempt cases 11 times from 1951 to 1968, according the CRS…. Most of the cases involved the House Un-American Activities Committee and its communist witch-hunts in the 1950s.
The full CRS report is online here (pdf).
One case is of particular interest – and makes Issa’s over-the-top tactics look a little worse.
McCarthy accused a factory worker named Diantha Hoag of being a communist, and when she spoke to the Un-American Activities Committee, the accused answered a variety of questions before pleading the Fifth in response to inquiries about her associations.
Like Issa now, McCarthy said Hoag couldn’t do that. A federal court said McCarthy didn’t know what he was talking about.
Issa may or may not know this, but all appearances, he doesn’t seem to care. This is about putting on a nice little show for the Republican base and others who continue to hope against hope that the IRS “controversy” may someday become real if GOP lawmakers just keep digging indefinitely.
Also note that before the Oversight Committee’s contempt vote, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) asked that the panel release the full transcripts of all the interviews with all the witnesses from the IRS and Treasury. That way, rather than pass around cherry-picked excerpts removed from context, everyone – voters, journalists, lawmakers, etc. – could see the whole story for themselves.
Issa, who still thinks the Obama administration is hiding something, refused the request for full disclosure. |
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Thu Apr 10, 2014 5:34 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:24 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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evidence IRS also targeted liberals, Democrats say
By Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON Tue Aug 20, 2013 3:47pm EDT
(Reuters) - Terms associated with politically liberal groups such as "Emerge" and "ACORN" were used by U.S. tax agents to flag applicants seeking tax-exemption for added scrutiny, according to internal IRS documents released by Democrats on Tuesday.
The memos, training materials and other materials are the latest salvo in a controversy that erupted in May over Internal Revenue Service scrutiny and delays of applications from Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations.
A May 14 report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) critical of IRS practices led to the removal of top IRS officials along with FBI and congressional investigations.
Since then, Democrats have accused TIGTA of unfairly focusing on Tea Party-related groups in its report, while failing to look for liberal terms. TIGTA has since expanded its review to such groups.
The internal IRS documents made public on Tuesday include the word "Emerge," a term used by some Democratic-leaning groups, and "ACORN," an acronym for a liberal community activism group no longer in business.
One documents says applicants associated with ACORN should be elevated to a Washington IRS official, Chip Hull, who was also helping review Tea Party applications.
"This new information should put a nail in the coffin of the Republican claims that the IRS's actions were politically motivated or were targeted at only one side of the political spectrum," said Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel probing the matter.
Republicans said the search terms only proved that the IRS was going after known "bad actors," not a broad swath of conservative groups like the Tea Party-linked entities. Before it closed, ACORN was accused of irregularities in its voter registration drives.
Republicans also said the use of the terms did not suggest the liberal groups suffered excessive delays in the handling of their applications, as spelled out in the original TIGTA report.
A spokesman for Darrell Issa, the top Republican investigating the matter as head of the House oversight committee, said the case of "Emerge" was a special one because they were approved and then had their tax-exempt status later revoked.
"How many times have congressional Democrats now tried to declare the IRS targeting investigation over?" said Frederick Hill, a spokesman for Issa. "An application for tax-exempt status from an Emerge America affiliate was originally approved before the IRS concluded the organization was overtly training candidates for the Democratic Party."
PRIMARILY VERSUS EXCLUSIVELY
The IRS struggles with determining tax-exempt status for groups seeking to qualify as a "social welfare organization" under 501(c)(4) of the tax code, which allows a vague amount of political activity.
Separately on Tuesday, another Democratic Representative Chris Van Hollen said he would file a lawsuit against the Treasury Department and the IRS to force the agency to clarify its rules.
The lawsuit, which also will be filed consumer groups, challenges IRS regulations adopted in 1959 that govern eligibility for tax-exempt status under 501(c)(4).
The IRS regulations say groups can qualify if they "primarily" engage in social welfare activities.
But the original Revenue Act of 1913 states that such groups should operate "exclusively" for the promotion of social welfare goals, as opposed to political activity.
Democrats and other critics say confusion about the law has made it impossible for the IRS to properly vet applicants for tax-exemption.
(Additional reporting by Patrick Temple-West; Editing by Howard Goller and Bill Trott) |
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Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:28 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Democrats offer new evidence that IRS targeted progressive groups
By Josh Hicks
July 12, 2013 at 1:27 pm
The House Oversight committee’s top Democrat on Friday will release new evidence that the Internal Revenue Service targeted both progressive and conservative groups for extra scrutiny during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said in a draft letter to committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif) that congressional investigators have discovered training materials from an July 2010 “Screening Workshop” that prove IRS agents were told to be on the lookout for groups from both sides of the political spectrum.
A PowerPoint presentation from the workshop told IRS processors to screen for names that look like “tea party,” “patriots,” ” 9/12 Project,” and “progressive.” It noted that such groups ”may be more than 50% political,” which could disqualify them from tax-exempt status.
Minutes from the training session show that the IRS also instructed agents who had any doubts about groups to “err on the side of caution and transfer to 7822,” an IRS office in Cincinnati that reviewed applications for tax-exemption.
An audit by IRS inspector general J. Russell George found that the agency inappropriately targeted groups based on ideology rather than looking for politically neutral signs of campaign activity.
Republicans seized on the findings to suggest that the Obama administration had systematically bullied its critics during critical elections. The issue led to public outrage, agency apologies, congressional hearings, a Justice Department probe and an IRS shakeup that included the resignation of acting commissioner Steven Miller under pressure from the White House.
George testified before Congress in May that his office was unable to determine whether any cases in the audit involved progressive groups. He said the names “in many instances were neutral, in that you couldn’t necessarily attribute it to one particular affiliation or another.”
Cummings said in his letter that the new IRS documents “raise serious questions about the inspector general’s report, his testimony before Congress, and his subsequent assertions in letters to members of Congress.” He also asked Issa to recall George for further testimony at a hearing the chairman scheduled for July 18.
Earlier this month, House Democrats released IRS documents showing that terms such as “progressive,” “health care legislation” and “medical marijuana” appeared on a multipart “Be on the Lookout” list, or BOLO, that helped agents determine which groups deserved additional screening.
Despite that revelation, the BOLO could still be problematic for the IRS. A category on the list called “emerging issues” included only conservative search terms at the outset.
Terms such as “progressive” and “medical marijuana” appeared in separate parts of the BOLO that included diverse search criteria. Questions remain about when and how those terms were used by IRS screeners, as well as whether those categories were even relevant to the audit. Both the IRS and George’s office have said they’re looking into those matters.
Cummings’ letter said the IRS added the phrase “‘Occupy’ Organizations” to the BOLO in January 2012, including that search criteria under the “watch list” category.
Republicans have downplayed the recent revelations about search criteria associated with left-leaning groups.
“Our Democratic colleagues should stop trying to derail the investigation by defending IRS officials with distorted claims equating the systematic scrutiny of Tea Party groups with the more routine screening progressive groups received,” Issa said in a statement last week.
In an e-mail on Friday, Issa spokesman Frederick Hill pointed out that the meeting minutes refer to a “Tea Party coordinator” that the agency assigned to review some of the screened applications.
“That line presents further evidence that Tea Party groups were differentiated and segregated from other applications and is consistent with other evidence that Tea Party groups were treated differently,” Hill said. “The fact that there is no indication (on the document or elsewhere) that there was a “Progressives coordinator” is further evidence of disparate treatment.”
To connect with Josh Hicks, follow his Twitter feed, friend his Facebook page or e-mail josh.hicks@washpost.com. For more federal news, visit The Federal Eye, The Fed Page and Post Politics. E-mail federalworker@washpost.com with news tips and other suggestions.
Josh Hicks covers the federal government and anchors the Federal Eye blog. He reported for newspapers in the Detroit and Seattle suburbs before joining the Post as a contributor to Glenn Kessler’s Fact Checker column in 2011. Josh graduated from Albion College and Stanford. He also lived in New Zealand for eight months working as a commercial fisherman and fruit picker. |
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Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:32 pm |
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