First IRS, now FBI shafts tea party
'What kind of investigation is
this?'
WASHINGTON — “It appears that the FBI is in the pocket of the Department
of Justice and the White House.”
That’s how attorney Cleta Mitchell
described to WND the news that the FBI doesn’t plan to file criminal charges
against anyone at the IRS for
targeting conservative groups.
Mitchell has represented about a
dozen conservative groups that were subjected to dubious, invasive and extra
scrutiny by the IRS while applying for tax-exempt status.
She expressed a sarcastic
skepticism that the Justice Department would ever fully investigate the IRS.
“To quote Faye Dunaway in the last
scene in ‘Chinatown,’ when she yells at Jack
Nicholson ‘… he OWNS the police.’”
“Therein lies the problem,”
concluded the high-powered Washington
attorney.
Tea-party advocates are upset the
FBI does not seem interested in getting the story from the victims, only the purported
victimizers.
“I can confirm that the FBI has
not contacted me, any of my clients, or any other organizations who were
victimized by the IRS,” Mitchell told WND.
“Some investigation,” she wryly
added.
That was the identical experience
of perhaps the most powerful person in the conservative grassroots movement,
Jenny Beth Martin, president and co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, an umbrella
organization supporting thousands of local organizations and millions of
members.
“It’s amazing that this is the
result of the supposed investigation,” she told WND. “The FBI never once
contacted us. They never contacted any of our attorneys.”
“Tea Party Patriots and I are in
touch with locals leaders around the country every single day – none of those
people were contacted by the FBI,” said an exasperated and incredulous Martin.
Despite evidence from the Treasury Department that the IRS
targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny, law-enforcement officials
leaked word to the Wall Street Journal that investigators didn’t find the kind
of political bias or “enemy hunting” that would amount to a violation of
criminal law.
“What kind of investigation is
this – where you don’t even talk to and interview the people who were
victimized in the crime?” wondered Martin.
WND asked her, as far as you can
tell, is there actually an investigation?
“I never saw an investigation,”
she said. “If there was, they were not talking to the people who were most
affected. We were never contacted, and I’ve heard of no one who has been
contacted.”
That echoed what Mitchell told the
Wall Street Journal.
“As far as I can tell, nobody has
actually done an investigation. This has been a big, bureaucratic,
former-Soviet-Union-type investigation, which means that there was no
investigation,” she said. “This is a deplorable abuse of the public trust, but
I am not surprised.”
Sources told the paper the FBI
discovered a mismanaged bureaucracy at the IRS merely bungled enforcement rules
about tax-exemption applications it didn’t understand.
However, the evidence points to a
much greater targeting of conservative groups than progressive organizations.
The audit of the targeting
practice by Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found
only “30 percent of the organizations we identified with the words ‘progress’
or ‘progressive’ in their names were processed as potential political cases.”
“In comparison, our audit found
that 100 percent of the tax-exempt applications with tea party, patriots, or
9/12 in their names were processed as potential political cases during the time
frame of our audit.”
The IRS even admitted that
conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status were inappropriately given
close scrutiny between May 2010 and May 2012, which delayed approvals for
months, and sometimes years.
“The evidence shows us that
conservative groups were not only flagged, but targeted and abused by the IRS,”
said Sarah Swinehart, spokeswoman for the House Ways and Means Committee.
The American Center
for Law and Justice, or ACLJ, which represents 41 organizations in a federal
lawsuit against the IRS, said the investigation is nothing more than a “sham”
designed to protect those responsible.
“From Day 1, it was apparent the
Obama administration was never really interested in getting to the truth. This
latest revelation directly conflicts with the facts and evidence in our case –
that our clients were deliberately singled out and targeted because of their
conservative political beliefs.” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ.
After seven months, the FBI
actually did contact the ACLJ late in December requesting interviews with
several of their clients. But just days ago, the ACLJ said it would re-evaluate
that request after it was revealed that a top Obama supporter in the Department
of Justice was named to head-up the criminal investigation.
“The appointment of Barbara
Bosserman – a major political donor – to oversee the criminal probe is a
significant conflict of interest,” said Sekulow. “What’s amazing is that her
short tenure at the helm – just a matter of days – apparently was long enough
to conclude no criminal charges will be filed against those responsible for the
targeting scheme.”
House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Subcommittee Chairman Jim
Jordan, R-Ohio, released a statement that was also critical of the appointment
of Bosserman, because “congressional investigators independently discovered
that a high-dollar contributor to the Obama administration failed to recuse herself.”
“These revelations further
undermine the credibility of the Attorney General
Holder and the Justice Department under his leadership. Given the
circumstances, there is little reason for the American people to have
confidence in this investigation,” they concluded.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was as
incredulous as anyone over the news.
“How can the Department of Justice
say that no charges will be filed when its investigation into the targeting of
conservative groups isn’t finished?”
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
Note: Eric H. Holder Jr.
is the attorney general at the U.S.
Department of Justice for the Barack
Obama administration, a board member for the American Constitution Society.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the American Constitution Society, the Human Rights Watch, and the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank).
George
Soros was a benefactor for the Human
Rights Watch, is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
John J.
Studzinski was a director at the Human
Rights Watch, a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and was the co-head of investment banking for HSBC Holdings plc.
Stuart A. Levey
is the chief legal officer for HSBC
Holdings plc, was the principal associate deputy attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, and the under
secretary for terrorism, financial intelligence for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
James
B. Comey is a director at the HSBC
Holdings plc, a director nominee for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and was the deputy attorney
general for the U.S. Department of
Justice.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
William H. Webster
was a director at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), and is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank).
Charles O.
Rossotti is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and was a commissioner for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
IRS Oversight
Board is a citizen’s board for the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
Nancy
Killefer was a member of the IRS
Oversight Board, the nominee for
chief performance officer for the Barack
Obama administration, and the assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Deborah L.
Wince-Smith was a member of the IRS
Oversight Board, and is a member of the Belizean Grove.
Belizean_Grove
is the equivalent to the male-only social group, the Bohemian Club.
Henry A. Kissinger is a member of the Bohemian Club, a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, the
founder of Kissinger Associates, Inc.,
a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a
2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue
Committee.
George Soros
is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Timothy F.
Geithner was an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, a researcher
for Kissinger Associates, Inc., and the
secretary at the U.S. Department of the
Treasury for the Barack Obama
administration.
Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) is a division
of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Charles O.
Rossotti was a commissioner for the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank).
Timothy D. Adams
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States
(think tank), and was the under secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Herbert M.
Allison Jr. is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and was the assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
David D. Aufhauser
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States
(think tank), and was the general counsel for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
James A. Baker III
is an honorary director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and was the secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Kenneth
W. Dam is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and
was the deputy secretary at the U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
Stuart E. Eizenstat
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States
(think tank), and was the deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Robert M. Kimmitt
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States
(think tank), and was the deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Teresa M. Ressel
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States
(think tank), and was the assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
George
P. Shultz is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank), and was the secretary
for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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