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11/25/2014

The Blaze: Officials to Cough Up Documents That Could Show the IRS Gave Private Taxpayer Data to the White House

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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.

 

“This disclosure, coming only after Cause of Action sued TIGTA over its refusal to acknowledge whether such investigations took place, and after the Court ordered TIGTA to reveal whether or not documents existed, signals that the White House may have made significant efforts to obtain taxpayers’ personal information,” the group said.

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11/25/2014

Washington Examiner: Treasury: 2,500 documents ‘potentially’ show IRS sharing taxpayer data with White House

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In a shocking revelation, the Treasury Inspector General has identified some 2,500 documents that “potentially” show taxpayer information held by the Internal Revenue Service being shared with President Obama’s White House.

 

The discovery was revealed to the group Cause of Action, which has sued for access to any of the documents. It charges that the IRS and White House have harassed taxpayers.

 

In an email from the Justice Department’s tax office, an official revealed the high number of documents, suggesting that the White House was hip deep in probes of taxpayers, likely including conservatives and Tea Party groups associated with the IRS scandal.

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11/25/2014

Cause of Action Statement on White House and IRS Targeting

Cause of Action released the following statement Monday concerning White House and IRS targeting:

Monday the 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.  This disclosure, coming only after Cause of Action sued TIGTA over its refusal to acknowledge whether such investigations took place, and after the Court ordered TIGTA to reveal whether or not documents existed, signals that the White House may have made significant efforts to obtain taxpayers’ personal information.  This disclosure, following on the heels of TIGTA’s admission that it recovered 30,000 “lost” Lois Lerner emails, renews Cause of Action’s concerns about the decaying professionalism of, and apparent slip into partisanship by, IRS’s senior leadership.

Cause of Action will continue to pursue the truth and to work for IRS accountability.

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10/20/2014

Breitbart: Austan Goolsbee Claims Innocence as Court Orders Investigative Records Released

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  • October 9, 2012 – Watchdog group Cause for Action files a FOIA request for any investigative documents pertaining to disclosure of private tax information to the Executive Office of the President.

  • November 30, 2012 – Treasury’s IG Office issues a response which refuses to confirm or deny the existence of any such reports.

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10/6/2014

Powerline: Is another Obama Administration Scandal About to Explode?

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So, for more than three years Obama has managed to keep the lid on this scandal by hiding the Inspector General’s report. Along with Koch Industries, the Washington Free Beacon and a government watchdog group called Cause of Action made Freedom of Information Act requests for documents relating to the Inspector General’s investigation. When the Obama administration refused to produce any responsive information, Cause of Action sued.

 

On September 29, a federal district judge in Washington ruled in Cause of Action’s favor. Cause of Action had asked for all documents related to any investigation by TIGTA into the unauthorized disclosure of tax return information to anyone in the Executive Office of the President. The Obama administration made a “Glomar response,” which means that it would neither confirm nor deny the existence of any responsive records, on the theory that doing so would itself reveal information protected under FOIA.

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10/6/2014

Washington Post: Judge: IRS watchdog not exempt from disclosure law in White House case

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The judge’s order came as part of a lawsuit by Cause of Action, a conservative organization that has accused the Obama administration of targeting taxpayers for harassment.

 

Dan Epstein, the group’s executive director, called the court’s decision a “decisive win” for government transparency and accountability. “The court has ruled that the federal government cannot hide behind confidentiality laws to prevent Americans from knowing if our president has gained unauthorized access to their tax information,” he said.

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10/1/2014

Courthouse News Service: IRS Auditor Must Process Tax Disclosure Request

Read the full story: Courthouse News Service

Plaintiff Cause of Action, a nonprofit formerly known as the Freedom through Justice Foundation, filed a wide-ranging Freedom of Information Act request with the Internal Revenue Service in October 2012.

 
Among the items it sought were any documents related to investigations of IRS employees disclosing tax return information to the Executive Office of the President.

 
That portion of the request was passed on to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. TIGTA is organized under the Department of the Treasury, but is independent of the department, according to its website. It audits and investigates IRS operations.

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