Media

Read the full story: Wall Street Journal

“In an abrupt decision, the Treasury inspector general’s office said that the documents are covered by privacy and disclosure laws and can’t be provided to Cause of Action, despite a promise last week to hand over some 2,500. . . .

 

“All of the 2,043 pages of documents we have determined to be responsive were collected by the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the determination of possible liability under Title 26 of the United States Code. These pages consist of return information protected by 26 U.S.C. § 6103 and may not be disclosed absent an express statutory exception,” said the office in a letter dated Dec. 1.”

 

It’s something of a Catch-22, but the logic is not obviously unsound. If the IRS violated taxpayer privacy by providing information to the White House—and as Glenn Reynolds never tires of reminding us, President Obama himself “joked” about auditing his enemies—it’s easy to imagine that disclosing specific details of the violations would be impossible without compounding them. All of which is a strong argument for a confidential but independent investigation of the administration’s abuse of the IRS.

Read the full story: Washington Examiner

Less than a week after ’fessing up that it found some 2,500 documents potentially showing that the IRS shared taxpayer returns with the White House, the Obama administration has reversed course and won’t release the trove to a group suing for access.

 

In an abrupt decision, the Treasury inspector general’s office said that the documents are covered by privacy and disclosure laws and can’t be provided to Cause of Action, despite a promise last week to hand over some 2,500.

 

The decision coincides  with publication this week of the Washington Examiner’s series,“Watchdogs, lapdogs and attack dogs,” that assesses problems with the IG system, including the tendency in some quarters to protect federal officials and agencies from critical scrutiny.

Read the full story: Investors Business Daily

This discovery came from a lawsuit by the group Cause of Action, which has sought release of all documents related to IRS targeting of conservative groups.

 

Under court pressure, some of the documents were scheduled to be released Dec. 1 and the rest by Dec. 15.

 

In an email from the Department of Justice’s tax office requesting a delay in the delivery date of the formerly “lost” documents, it noted that TIGTA “has located 2,500 potentially responsive documents” and needed extra time “to make any necessary withholdings.”

 

“Potentially responsive” means they could relate to the release of private taxpayer information by the IRS to administration officials, including the White House. As Vice President Joe Biden might say, this could be a very big deal indeed.

Read the full story: Washington Free Beacon

On Monday the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) informed the watchdog group Cause of Action that it will turn over nearly 2,500 documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the group.

 

In a statement, Cause of Action said the number of documents “signals that the White House may have made significant efforts to obtain taxpayers’ personal information.”