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.”
Read the full story: The Blaze
But TIGTA never released a report, and that prompted the group Cause of Action to file a Freedom of Information Act request to see the result of its work. TIGTA refused to even confirm its investigation, but in September, a judge said TIGTA officials had to comply with the request from Cause of Action.
Cause of Action said Tuesday that it expects to receive up to 2,500 separate documents that could show improper links between the White House and the IRS, and that it expects to receive those documents by mid-December.
Read the full story: Power Line
Years later, the judicial system may be poised to expose another layer of Obama corruption. A group called Cause of Action began a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of the Treasury, and for several years, your taxpayer dollars have funded the administration’s cover-up.
But nothing lasts forever, and a federal court in Washington, D.C. has finally overruled the Treasury Department’s frivolous objections, and ordered Treasury to respond to Cause of Action’s request for documents. That request relates to the Department’s Inspector General’s investigation–which began a long time ago, and probably has long been concluded–and asks for “[a]ll documents pertaining to any investigation by [TIGTA] into the unauthorized disclosure of [26 U.S.C.] §6103 ‘return information’ to anyone in the Executive Office of the President.”
By Dan Epstein
Nov. 26, 2014, 5 a.m.
On November 7, 2011, Congressman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sent a letter to Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch echoing his concerns about a former ACORN group, “New York Communities for Change” and its alleged “fraud through its participation in the Occupy Wall Street protests.” Issa asked Lynch to investigate potential fraud by the progressive nonprofit group. Lynch, to date, has failed to take action.
Lynch has a history of failing to investigate progressive-leaning nonprofit groups.
In 2013, U.S. Attorney Lynch testified before the Moreland Commission — set up by Governor Andrew Cuomo to investigate corruption — detailing her successful prosecution of several corrupt New York public officials. Despite numerous allegations in the press about fraud relating to Representative Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., and connected nonprofits, Meeks was never indicted even though at least one of these nonprofits was subpoenaed by Lynch’s office and Rep. Meeks was subject to a House Ethics investigation. Lynch has, however, successfully indicted Republican Rep. Michael G. Grimm.
Since 2009, Congressman Issa led the congressional investigation into ACORN. Bertha Lewis, who rose to become ACORN’s President, had her office at 24 Nevins Street in Brooklyn, New York, which was also home to ACORN Housing Corporation, Mutual Housing Association of New York, and the Working Families Party — all affiliates of ACORN and all eventually defunded by the federal government after numerous federal Inspector General and congressional investigations. Today, New York Communities for Change is housed at 24 Nevins Street.
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was roundly criticized for firing U.S. Attorneys who refused to investigate allegations of fraud by groups like ACORN — an issue that hastened his resignation. Now, it appears we’re honoring that legacy by promoting a lawyer who ignored clear evidence of misconduct that occurred under her watch. At least we know what we’re getting in America’s next top law enforcement official.
Dan Epstein is executive director of Cause of Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit government oversight group.
Read the full story: The Daily Caller
The legal advocacy firm Cause of Action sued the Treasury Department’s inspector general for information about further IRS coordination with the White House. The long-stonewalled lawsuit has finally borne fruit.
“[T]he Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) informed Cause of Action that there exist nearly 2,500 potentially responsive documents relating to investigations of improper disclosures of confidential taxpayer information by the IRS to the White House,” Cause of Action stated.
Read the full story: Forbes
The Inspector General for Tax Administration has seemed to be a white knight in the sometimes tawdry (and often inflammatory) email and targeting scandal that has roiled the IRS over 18 months. Yet on this particular issue, the Inspector General is being questioned too. An advocacy group called Cause of Action sued the Inspector General under the Freedom of Information Act for information about communications between the White House and the IRS.
Eventually, the court ordered that office to reveal whether the documents existed. Finally, the Obama administration has agreed to release the documents. A key question is whether any officials at the White House have ever asked anyone over at the IRS to transmit private taxpayer information to the White House in violation of law. Another question, regardless of whether the White House asked for any taxpayer information, is whether the IRS ever transmitted any.
Read the full story: Washington Times
The suit, filed against Treasury’s inspector general by Cause of Action, a legal advocacy outfit, reveals a steady stream of communication went on between the White House and the IRS — a potentially “improper” stream, the group alleged, The Daily Caller reported.
“[T]he Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration informed Cause of Action that there exist nearly 2,500 potentially confidential documents relating to investigations of improper disclosures of confidential taxpayer information by the IRS to the White House,” Cause of Action told The Daily Caller.
The Justice Department has requested more time to review the documents before making them public, Newsmax said.