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IRS Official to Judicial Watch: Clinton Enemies Were Audited
Newsmax ^ | April 23,2002 | Carl Limbacher

Posted on 04/22/2002 10:00:48 PM PDT by Kay Soze

IRS Official to Judicial Watch: Clinton Enemies Were Audited Carl Limbacher, NewsMax.com

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

An official with the Internal Revenue Service has admitted that legal opponents of former President Bill Clinton were singled out for tax audits, according to court documents made public this week. "What do you expect when you sue the president?" senior IRS official Paul Breslan told Judicial Watch, the Washington-based legal watchdog group that had filed 50-plus legal actions against the Clinton administration and subsequently found itself in the IRS's cross hairs.

Breslan's quote is cited in Judicial Watch's complaint against the tax agency, based on a host of what look to be politically inspired audits that make the worst abuses of the Nixon administration appear puny by comparison.

"There were literally six witnesses in the room when Breslan told us we should have expected an audit," Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman revealed to NewsMax.com. "Four of them were lawyers."

The legal group became the target of an IRS audit in 1998, just four days after it filed an independent impeachment report against Clinton, based on years of investigation into everything from Chinagate to the Paula Jones case.

But Judicial Watch wasn't alone. Witnesses bearing damaging testimony against the president were a favorite target of the Clinton IRS. Those singled out for audits include:

Leak

The Jones case, which would eventually lead to Clinton's impeachment, was of particular interest to the IRS, which apparently leaked her confidential tax returns to the late New York Daily News reporter Lars Erik Nelson.

In a September 1997 column Nelson revealed details from Jones' filing to bolster claims that she was profiting from her sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton.

In a subsequent interview with NewsMax.com's Carl Limbacher (then with the Washington Weekly), Nelson insisted somewhat implausibly that a "friend" of Jones had come across her tax return during a visit to her home and decided to go public with the secrets.

Quite an Enemies List

As the Judicial Watch complaint notes, the Clinton IRS also went after organizations and even media companies it perceived as politically hostile, including:

The National Rifle Association, The Heritage Foundation, The National Review, The American Spectator, Freedom Alliance, National Center for Public Policy Research, American Policy Center, American Cause, Citizens Against Government Waste, Citizens for Honest Government, Progress and Freedom Foundation, Concerned Women for America and the San Diego Chapter of Christian Coalition.

Fox News Channel analyst Bill O'Reilly, a frequent critic of Bill and Hillary Clinton, has also pointed out how the IRS has repeatedly audited him.

The political nature of the Judicial Watch's audit seems particularly blatant.

"The IRS asked for our political affiliations in the first notice of audit," Klayman told NewsMax.

When he questioned why auditors wanted to know about the group's political ties, an IRS district director said the information had been deemed "relevant."

Worse still, each time Judicial Watch seemed to make legal headway against the White House, the IRS ratcheted up the pressure.

"When we would accomplish something big, like the criminal finding by Judge Royce Lamberth against Clinton in the Kathleen Willey Privacy Act case, our lawyers would get a call saying, 'We just want you to know that Judicial Watch is still on the IRS's radar screen,'" Klayman said.

"The same thing happened when we revealed the White House e-mail scandal," he added.

Shockingly, the IRS's intimidation tactics continue into the Bush administration, which has failed to sack Clinton's IRS Commissioner Charles Rosotti.

After Judicial Watch won the release of thousands of pages of documents from Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force last month, a badge-wearing IRS agent showed up at the group's offices.

A personal meeting between Klayman and Bush Justice Department Criminal Division chief Michael Chertoff, who led the Senate investigation into the Clintons' Whitewater abuses, failed to yield any interest in pursuing IRS abuses, which now threaten to tarnish the Bush administration.

When noted columnist Robert Novak inquired of the Justice Department about Judicial Watch's IRS complaint, he was told by a department official, "I don't know what we are going to do with this Klayman."

"When we were told that we were being audited because we sued Bill Clinton, we had no choice but to stand up and fight in court," Klayman said. "By leaving Charles Rossotti as IRS commissioner, Bush obviously is sending a signal that political audits are fine with him."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abuseofpower; clinton; clintonhaters; clintonscandals; democrats; irs; taxreform
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To: Howlin
Where exactly did he say that?

"An official with the Internal Revenue Service has admitted that legal opponents of former President Bill Clinton were singled out for tax audits, according to court documents made public this week. "What do you expect when you sue the president?""

""There were literally six witnesses in the room when Breslan told us we should have expected an audit," Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman revealed to NewsMax.com."

""The IRS asked for our political affiliations in the first notice of audit," Klayman told NewsMax."

However I do see your point and looking back at my post, it appears that I attributed words that were not said. Let me edit my statement to correct this error:

And according to senior IRS official Paul Breslan's own admission, the audit was politically motivated. In my opinion, even the dimmest, most obtuse person can clearly see this is a witch hunt designed to intimidate those who would dare question their masters. It is a gross abuse of the power entrusted to our public servants, the sole purpose of which was to squash political dissent, long considered the lifeblood of a free society.

Like that better?

21 posted on 04/23/2002 1:46:20 PM PDT by freeeee
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To: freeeee
No, not better:

An official with the Internal Revenue Service has admitted that legal opponents of former President Bill Clinton were singled out for tax audits, according to court documents made public this week. "What do you expect when you sue the president?""

"There were literally six witnesses in the room when Breslan told us we should have expected an audit," Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman revealed to NewsMax.com."

"The IRS asked for our political affiliations in the first notice of audit," Klayman told NewsMax."

Those are ALL Larry Klayman's words. I hope you don't mind, but I'll wait and see what the truth is.

22 posted on 04/23/2002 2:08:21 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Howlin
Those are ALL Larry Klayman's words.

Um, actually there are a few in there he didn't say. Those happen to be the most disturbing ones in the article:

"What do you expect when you sue the president?" senior IRS official Paul Breslan told Judicial Watch (in front of 6 witnesses)

23 posted on 04/23/2002 2:16:26 PM PDT by freeeee
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To: freeeee
That IS what Klayman said he said; we shall see, won't we?
24 posted on 04/23/2002 6:32:31 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: spokeshave
They got re-invented.
25 posted on 04/24/2002 12:14:31 AM PDT by capitan_refugio
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To: Howlin
What happened to the good thread on this topic?

;)

26 posted on 05/06/2002 5:53:47 PM PDT by ned
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To: ned

It's still here, but it got locked down after some 2014 post/replies.... Boy did it get around the horn, IRS, Ron Brown, All the different Gates, just about any aspect you could think of....

JUDICIAL WATCH FIGHTS CLINTON IRS ATTEMPTED AUDIT

27 posted on 05/06/2002 6:07:44 PM PDT by deport
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To: ned
A better question is WHY was it reposted?
28 posted on 05/06/2002 6:30:11 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: deport
Well, that's a shame because I think that we were just beginning to get into the real issues. Which side was I on this time, anyway?
29 posted on 05/06/2002 7:49:49 PM PDT by ned
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To: BeAChooser, ChaseR, goldilucky, christine11, reformjoy, Fred Mertz, timestax, poet, palo verde
Ping!
30 posted on 05/06/2002 8:38:39 PM PDT by FreedominJesusChrist
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To: ned
Heck, I don't remember..... Seems there was some talk at one time about the "over my dead body" statement about releasing the donor list to the IRS...
31 posted on 05/06/2002 8:39:23 PM PDT by deport
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To: freeeee, Howlin
Howlin believes that any news article which happens to support Judicial Watch is an outright lie. Her personal distaste for Larry Klayman gets in the way of her judgment and causes her to believe that anyone who supports Judicial Watch is either a liar or a crazy fool.
32 posted on 05/06/2002 8:40:32 PM PDT by FreedominJesusChrist
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To: FreedominJesusChrist
Remind me, Freedom, where were we when we were so rudely interrupted?
33 posted on 05/06/2002 8:41:07 PM PDT by ned
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To: Howlin, freeeee
That is not only what Larry Klayman said, but is also what Bob Novak, a very respected conservative journalist and political pundit, has said.
34 posted on 05/06/2002 8:44:29 PM PDT by FreedominJesusChrist
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To: Kay Soze;hellinahandcart;RaceBannon;cacique;SnowBunny;Landru;Mudboy Slim
Hey, we've been screaming about this for years....everyone knew this....it's about time, someone wrote about it....Bump-ar-roonie Guys!
35 posted on 05/06/2002 8:45:26 PM PDT by KLT
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To: ned
I believe that you and BeAChooser were arguing about Ron Brown, although I am not sure, you may wish to check the thread yourself. All I remember for sure was that Luis Gonzalez spewed some unauditable verbage and ironically, had the last word on the thread.
36 posted on 05/06/2002 8:46:30 PM PDT by FreedominJesusChrist
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To: KLT
Thank God Almighty, it's here at last!
37 posted on 05/06/2002 8:47:00 PM PDT by ned
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To: FreedominJesusChrist
That is not only what Larry Klayman said, but is also what Bob Novak, a very respected conservative journalist and political pundit, has said after he talked to Larry Klayman.

I did not see ONE fact in that Novak article that came from anywhere other than JW. Nice try though.

38 posted on 05/06/2002 8:47:16 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: KLT
You should check out deport's link on his #29 post. Believe it or not, there were many crazy people supporting the IRS one this one. I was personally repulsed by this and quite surprised.
39 posted on 05/06/2002 8:48:38 PM PDT by FreedominJesusChrist
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To: FreedominJesusChrist
With all due respect, Rebeckie........Howlin simply believes in logic and objectivity.

You, OTOH, think that Larry Klayman should not be audited because you are a defender. Previous threads have shown a number of reasons that questions might need to be answered.

Now if you consider your defense to be lying or crazy or foolish........that's your business. However, you shouldn't blame someone else for it.

40 posted on 05/06/2002 8:49:41 PM PDT by Southflanknorthpawsis
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