Cause of Action is asking a federal court to grant its motion for summary judgment against the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Cause of Action is seeking enforcement of a prior court order requiring the government to produce records relating to the unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information to unauthorized White House officials.
Earlier this month, after being forced to admit that it had investigated unauthorized White House access, TIGTA asked the court to allow it to withhold documents under Section 6103 of the tax code. However, section 6103 is meant to protect taxpayers, not the government.
Dan Epstein, Executive Director of Cause of Action, released the following statement:
“Section 6103 was passed to stop White House and other officials from obtaining the tax return information of government critics and political opponents. TIGTA, however, has asked the Court to make the unprecedented ruling that the taxpayer protection law actually shields the identities of the government lawbreakers who requested or obtained tax data without proper authorization. Such a ruling would be both bad law and bad policy. Congress never intended such a thing when it passed the law. And, such a ruling will limit government accountability and encourage future abuse.”
Read the filings below:
