IRS

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IRS scandal still alive

Last month the IRS informed the House Ways and Means Committee that the files of Lois Lerner dated January 2009 to April 2011 were considered lost due to a supposed computer crash, casting doubt on the investigation’s success.

Then, just when we thought the case against Lerner would be stalled, a series of seemingly innocuous e-mails from her turned up in a recent weekend data dump.

lerner(worldmag.com photo)

In a recently released e-mail chain, Lois Lerner revealed her concern over e-mails that Congress might find in the case against her. (worldmag.com photo)

”I was cautioning folks about email and how we have had several occasions where Congress has asked for emails and there has been an electronic search for responsive emails – so we need to be cautious about what we say in emails,” wrote Lerner in an April 9, 2013 e-mail to Maria Hooke.  “Someone asked if OCS* conversations were also searchable – I don’t know, but told them I would get back to them.  Do you know?”

“OCS messages are not set to automatically save as the standard,” Hooke responded, “To date OCS conversations are not specifically identified as part of the Electronic Data Request for information …” Hooke then offered Lerner her general recommendation “to treat the conversation as if it could/is being saved somewhere, as it is possible for either party of the conversation to retain the information and have it turn up as part of an electronic search.  Make sense?”

To which, Lerner simply responded, “Perfect.” Continue reading →

Posted in IRS
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“Phony scandals, Mr. President? Really?

Over the years since Barrack Obama was elected president and the press almost totally signed on to his agenda, I have been writing about news that isn’t getting reported by the so-called mainstream media.

If it wasn’t for Fox News, conservative publications, blogs and radio talk shows, most of us wouldn’t know about the culture of corruption in the Obama administration.… read more

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Take IRS scandals seriously

I hope you are as outraged as I am over the IRS “loss” of e-mails in the Lois Lerner scandal over the targeting of conservative organizations. Keep in mind that this is the result of big government’s culture of corruption conceived by bureaucrats who think we taxpayers aren’t paying attention.

I’m sorry to say many are not, or don’t see how it affects them. … read more

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In pursuit of the “there there”

It’s getting tiresome watching Democrats stand before phalanx of microphones spouting the party line about the thousands of pages of IRS documents supplied to a half dozen or so  House and Senate committees and, enough already, there’s no “there there.”

No “there there” means, you’re not going to tie the scandal to anyone in the White House, especially the president.  They usually follow with a reference to a Republican “witch hunt” or a “fishing expedition.”  This is serious.  We cannot give up.

As I pointed out in Part 1 of my blog series, Understanding the IRS scandal, March 10, 2014, the president used his bully pulpit during the State of the Union Address on January 2010 to publically chastise members of the Supreme Court for their decision on Citizens United.  A host of Democrat senators, led by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), got the message and sent letters to the IRS to tighten the rules.

It’s the way President Obama works.  He tells us what he’s going to do, as when he told us he had a pen and a phone, and if Congress stood in his way, he’d find a way to get something done. Continue reading →

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Will GOP learn from Brat win?

First, let’s get it straight.  It wasn’t Tea Party financial support that enabled Dave Brat to beat GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Virginia primary last night as the media has been saying.

Putting it simply, Brat did campaign on principles Tea Partiers and true Republicans stand for – primarily adherence to the Constitution –   not moves to be Democrat-lite, to appear more moderate.… read more

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Poll reveals belief conservatives targeted by IRS

KRAMER NOTE:  On March 23, 2014 I posted the last of a four-part series on the IRS scandal.  While the Obama administration wants this issue to fade away, I intend to continue to keep it alive as we near the mid-term elections.

An April Fox News Poll reveals that voters, by a 49-41 percent margin, believe the Obama administration “intentionally had the IRS target conservative political groups.”… read more

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Poll shows 45 percent ‘unfavorable’ for Franken

In my March 27, 2014 blog post, It’s no joke, Senator Franken, I wrote of his effort to intimidate IRS employees; a plan to closely scrutinize tax exempt status applications submitted by Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations.

Led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Franken and several other senators pressured the IRS to delay Tea Party application approvals; a scheme to prevent groups from furthering their push for less government, lower taxes, less spending and adherence to the Constitution.… read more

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It’s no joke, Senator Franken

In my four-part series on the IRS scandal,  I wrote of U. S. senators who intimidated the agency in an effort to stymie Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations from gaining tax exempt status for political education.

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), the former Saturday Night Live funnyman, who won his 2008 race against Norm Coleman by just 312 votes after an eight-month recount process, was one of those senators. … read more

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Inderstanding the IRS scandal, Part 4

KRAMER’S NOTE:  This is the last in my series on the IRS scandal, providing you with the milestone events in capsulized form, emphasizing the importance of completing the investigation.  The first three in this series can be found in the right column of this page.

The Clear Case Against Lois Lerner

“Tea Party matter very dangerous.  This could be the vehicle to go to court on the issue of whether Citizens United overturning the ban on corporate spending applies to tax exempt rules.”   – Lois Lerner e-mail of February 1, 2011

lerner(worldmag.com photo)

Lois Lerner takes Fifth Amendment. (worldmag.com photo)

When Lois Lerner made her second appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on March 5, 2014, it was Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa’s intention to ask her about this statement. It goes back to her Oct. 19, 2010 declaration that the Supreme Court dealt a huge blow in its decision on Citizens United and “everyone is up in arms because the Federal Election Commission can’t do anything about it.”

Issa opened the testimony session asking Lerner to identify who wanted the problem caused by Citizens United fixed, and “why would you say Tea Party cases are dangerous?”  But Lerner, as she did on May 22, 2013, took the Fifth Amendment, refusing to answer that and subsequent questions concerning IRS actions against conservative organizations.  Since her first appearance, Issa had obtained a number of 2011 e-mails showing a heightened effort to stymie Tea Party organizations. Continue reading →

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Understanding the IRS Scandal, Part 3

KRAMER’S NOTE:  In Part 1, I explained how President Obama’s public chastising of the Supreme Court justices over their decision on Citizens United during his 2010 State-of-the-Union address triggered the IRS scandal.  In Part 2, I took you through the IG’s report on the IRS and the testimony that followed.  If you missed those parts you can scroll down or see “Recent Posts” in the right column.… read more