New emails show IRS coordinated Tea Party targeting with DOJ, FEC and liberal political activists

The Washington Examiner ^ | 4-17-2014 | Mark Tapscott

[smoothsailing]

OPINION: MORNING EXAMINER

New emails show IRS coordinated Tea Party targeting with Justice Department, FEC and liberal political activists

BY MARK TAPSCOTT | APRIL 17, 2014 AT 9:10 AM

Congressional and media attention in the IRS scandal thus far has focused mainly on the federal tax agency and its former exempt organizations director, Lois Lerner.

But Judicial Watch, the non-profit government watchdog, has obtained email correspondence between Lerner and key U.S. Department of Justice officials about criminal prosecution of conservative and Tea Party nonprofits illegally targeted for harassment.

That would be the same Justice Department run by Attorney General Eric Holder, and that employs Barbara Bosserman, one of President Obama's loyal, long-time campaign contributors.

Bosserman has a major role in the Justice Department's "investigation" of the IRS scandal that Obama told the nation found "not even a smidgen of corruption" at the IRS.

See no evil, hear no ...

The emails uncovered by Judicial Watch suggest the reason Holder's department found nothing wrong at IRS is the fact DOJ was assisting the IRS in its illegal activities.

In a May 8, 2013, email Lerner told an IRS colleague:

"I got a call today from Richard Pilger Director Elections Crimes Branch at DOJ ... He wanted to know who at IRS the DOJ folk s [sic] could talk to about Sen. Whitehouse's idea at the hearing that DOJ could piece together false statement cases about applicants who "lied" on their 1024s — saying they weren't planning on doing political activity, and then turning around and making large visible political expenditures."

And the FEC, too

In another email exposed by Judicial Watch, Lerner described in detail the political agenda behind the anti-Tea Party and conservative harassment:

"As I mentioned yesterday — there are several groups of folks from the FEC world that are pushing tax fraud prosecution for c4s who report they are not conducting political activity when they are (or these folks think they are).

"One is my ex-boss Larry Noble (former General Counsel at the FEC), who is now president of Americans for Campaign Reform.

"This is their latest push to shut these down. One IRS prosecution would make an impact and they wouldn't feel so comfortable doing the stuff.

"So, don't be fooled about how this is being articulated – it is ALL about 501(c)(4) orgs and political activity."

Left's 501(c)(4)s are ok

Lerner's mention of Americans for Campaign Reform is doubly interesting because it suggests the IRS scandal was a three-cornered effort by the Obama administration effort to suppress its Tea Party and conservative critics.

Americans for Campaign Reform is a 501(c)(3) education foundation. Note that IRS rules governing c3s bar partisan political activity far more rigorously than those covering c4s.

The group has received at least 41 contributions totaling $1.7 million in recent years from such groups as the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The New York Community Trust, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Some folks might wonder if any of those philanthropic groups knew their contributions would be used to help suppress First Amendment political speech and association rights?

[smoothsailing]

J. Christian Adams at PJ Media sheds some light on Lois Lerner's "ex-boss" Larry Noble.

.........................................

The emails also reveal a desire to jail conservative activists working for non-profits. From one IRS email:

As I mentioned yesterday — there are several groups of folks from the FEC world that are pushing tax fraud prosecution for c4s who report they are not conducting political activity when they are (or these folks think they are). One is my ex-boss Larry Noble (former General Counsel at the FEC), who is now president of Americans for Campaign Reform. This is their latest push to shut these down. One IRS prosecution would make an impact and they wouldn’t feel so comfortable doing the stuff.

Larry Noble is a speech regulator and heads the First Amendment-hostile organization Americans for Campaign Reform which seeks to limit the reach of the First Amendment. He is also a professor at George Washington University School of Law where he teaches law students his limited views of the First Amendment.

Noble

[p. henry]

We need a special prosecutor NOW. If DOJ or former DOJ employees may have been involved with Lerner’s effort to suppress the c-4’s, DOJ has an insurmountable conflict of interest.

[miliantnutcase]

Scum

[txhurl]

I wish The Walking Dead could write some of these RATS into the series and have look-alikes eaten by Walkers.

[Aria]

Has anyone said why Lerner originally planted a question so she could reveal the Tea Party targeting? This doesn’t make a lot of sense from what I can tell. Why would they out themselves for something that could end up in such a scandal?

[Logical me]

We need a special prosecutor NOW

The real process start with the House and Bonehead is at home crying in bed. We are crap out of luck. The communists empire of King Obama is untouchable.

[Starstruck]

Has anyone said why Lerner originally planted a question so she could reveal the Tea Party targeting?

Because an IG report was going to come out the following week that said the IRS targeted conservative groups.

[kiryandil]

"In a tyranny, everyone is a criminal, except for the government, and anyone who is a part of the government."

So don't hold your breath.

You'll turn blue.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Civil disobedience. We can choose to stop obeying laws we disagree with, like the Prezzie, en mass.

[VRW Conspirator]

I wish The Walking Dead could write some of these RATS into the series and have look-alikes eaten by Walkers.

bump

[Beagle8U]

Because they knew is was going to come out anyway?

Likely someone told Lerner they would spill their guts if she didn’t do it first.

[smoothsailing]

She needed to distance herself and the D.C. office from the unfolding scandal.

The planted question gave her the opening to place blame on the Cincinnati “low-level” employees and claim it was an isolated case.

More here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018259/posts

[Izzy Dunne]

Larry Noble is a speech regulator

Uhhhh... what?

[deport]

Other details at the following article:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3145481/posts?

[smoothsailing]

http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2014/04/17/a-new-more-sinister-irs-scandal/

[kearnyirish2]

“The communists empire of King Obama is untouchable.”

I agree; this IRS crap is small potatoes compared to the open racial discrimination of affirmative action, so if AA stands I don’t expect anything to be done here. In fact, as long as AA stands, nothing else even matters.