IRS 'Scandal' Fades As Documents Show Scrutiny Of Democratic Groups, ACORN Successors

[pbrauer]

More evidence shows that not just right leaning groups were targeted. Groups that emerged out of ACORN were targeted as well.

WASHINGTON -- Officials at the Internal Revenue Service were encouraged to flag groups with the word "emerge" in their names as well as potential successors to the anti-poverty organization ACORN, according to documents released by Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday.

The documents add another complicated layer to the ongoing (albeit diminished) controversy surrounding the IRS screening of Tea Party groups in 2010 and 2011. They also take additional steam out of the Republican Party's insistence that the tax agency was politically motivated against conservative groups when it considered whether or not to grant tax-exempt, 501(c)(4) status.

Groups with the word "emerge" in the name tend to lean more Democratic. As The New York Times previously reported, three such organizations -- Emerge Nevada, Emerge Maine and Emerge Massachusetts -- all were denied tax-exempt status because the IRS determined that they existed strictly to benefit Democratic candidates.

"Once again it is clear that the Inspector General's report left out critical information that skewed the audit's findings and set the stage for Republicans to make completely baseless accusations in an effort to tarnish the White House," said House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) in a prepared statement. "These new documents make it clear the IRS scrutiny of the political activity of 501(c)(4) organizations covered a broad spectrum of political ideology and was not politically motivated."

IRS 'Scandal' Fades As Documents Show Scrutiny Of Democratic Groups, ACORN Successors
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[ttwtt78640]

Re: IRS 'Scandal' Fades As Documents Show Scrutiny Of Democratic Groups, ACORN Succes

More evidence shows that not just right leaning groups were targeted. Groups that emerged out of ACORN were targeted as well.

WASHINGTON -- Officials at the Internal Revenue Service were encouraged to flag groups with the word "emerge" in their names as well as potential successors to the anti-poverty organization ACORN, according to documents released by Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday.

The documents add another complicated layer to the ongoing (albeit diminished) controversy surrounding the IRS screening of Tea Party groups in 2010 and 2011. They also take additional steam out of the Republican Party's insistence that the tax agency was politically motivated against conservative groups when it considered whether or not to grant tax-exempt, 501(c)(4) status.

Groups with the word "emerge" in the name tend to lean more Democratic. As The New York Times previously reported, three such organizations -- Emerge Nevada, Emerge Maine and Emerge Massachusetts -- all were denied tax-exempt status because the IRS determined that they existed strictly to benefit Democratic candidates.

"Once again it is clear that the Inspector General's report left out critical information that skewed the audit's findings and set the stage for Republicans to make completely baseless accusations in an effort to tarnish the White House," said House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) in a prepared statement. "These new documents make it clear the IRS scrutiny of the political activity of 501(c)(4) organizations covered a broad spectrum of political ideology and was not politically motivated."

IRS 'Scandal' Fades As Documents Show Scrutiny Of Democratic Groups, ACORN Successors
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So the score is now 290+ conservative to maybe 6 liberal groups and that makes it "diverse" enough to show no "clear bias" to one liberal congressional "investigator"? How about the simple fact that the group's names (keywords?) were used by the IRS to determine which applications got "extra scrutiny" still indicates unequal treatment under the law?

IRS auditor reaffirms that conservatives, not liberals, were targeted - Washington Times

 

[pbrauer]

Re: IRS 'Scandal' Fades As Documents Show Scrutiny Of Democratic Groups, ACORN Succes

So the score is now 290+ conservative to maybe 6 liberal groups and that makes it "diverse" enough to show no "clear bias" to one liberal congressional "investigator"? How about the simple fact that the group's names (keywords?) were used by the IRS to determine which applications got "extra scrutiny" still indicates unequal treatment under the law?

IRS auditor reaffirms that conservatives, not liberals, were targeted - Washington Times

The numbers reflect the number of organizations who seek tax exempt status, obviously the conservative groups sought it more than liberal groups. The differences in the scrutiny is because organizations do different things, some need more scrutiny than others.

The 290+ number is bogus, it's 96...

"...We now know, thanks to a letter the inspector general, J. Russell George, sent to Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) on Wednesday, that six groups with “progress” or “progressive” in their names were among the 298 “potential political cases.” Subtract those six from the total 298, and you get the 292 number that appeared in the headlines. But George’s letter did not mean, as the conservative outlets seem to think, that the rest of those groups were tea party groups. The inspector general report contains the actual number: 96 of the 298 groups deemed “potential political cases” had the terms tea party, patriots, or 9/12 in their names. That leaves 196 “potential political cases” whose political leanings we don’t know. They could be liberal. They could be conservative. They could be communist...."

Conservatives Struggle With IRS Scandal Numbers | TPMMuckraker​

 

[humbolt]

Re: IRS 'Scandal' Fades As Documents Show Scrutiny Of Democratic Groups, ACORN Succes

This has that unmistakable aroma of desperation.