The Cincinnatti Fox News tv affiliate report on the IRS scandal

Bob wrote:CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -

FOX19 has exclusively learned that as many as four people may be the first Cincinnati Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees to face disciplinary action, and possibly even criminal charges, for allegedly targeting Tea Party and Liberty groups applying for non-profit status.

On Wednesday, the IRS announced that it had pinpointed two employees at the agency's Cincinnati office for being 'primarily' responsible.

In addition, acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller resigned his position, revealed by President Obama on Wednesday.

"Secretary Lew took the first step by requesting and accepting the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS, because given the controversy surrounding this audit, it's important to institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward," said President Obama in a statement on Wednesday evening.

Prior to his resignation, Steven Miller called the two Cincinnati employees 'rogue' and 'off the reservation,' adding that they were 'overly aggressive' in handling the requests from those conservative groups over the past two years.

Miller also added that those two employees have already been 'disciplined' by the agency.

However, despite the claim of just two employees being involved, FOX19 has exclusively learned from two separate sources that there could be at least four Cincinnati employees involved.

Those four employees, whose names we have chosen to withhold until they have been officially confirmed, have each worked in the IRS Exempt Organizations Department.

This is the same department that has admitted publicly to sending letters to Tea Party and other conservative organizations.

FOX19 has also confirmed those four Cincinnati employees made large requests of information from:

The Richmond, Virginia Tea Party in January of 2012.
The Ohio Liberty Council in January of 2012..
Dan Backer, a lawyer based in Washington D.C. who helped six small conservative groups apply for 501c4 status in February of 2012.
The Liberty Township Tea Party in March of 2012.

One of FOX19's two sources went on say that these four IRS workers claim "they simply did what their bosses ordered." FOX19 reported on Tuesday that the report by the Office of Inspector General states that senior IRS officials knew agents were targeting Tea Party groups as early as 2011.

In fact, according to that report, Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax exempt organizations, was told on June 29, 2011 that groups with 'Tea Party', 'Patriot' or '9/12 Project' in their names were being flagged for additional, and often burdensome, scrutiny.

While the IRS is pointing at 'two rogue employees,' the number of organizations that were singled out has swelled to nearly 500, according to Rep. Congressmen Darryl Issa and Ohio's Jim Jordan.

FOX News is also reporting that at least two Cincinnati agents have been subpoenaed to testify before congress on Monday.

http://www.fox19.com/story/22265631/four-cincy-irs-workers-not-two-allegedly-connected-to-scandal

Bob wrote:CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -

FOX19 has exclusively learned that as many as four people may be the first Cincinnati Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees to face disciplinary action, and possibly even criminal charges, for allegedly targeting Tea Party and Liberty groups applying for non-profit status.

On Wednesday, the IRS announced that it had pinpointed two employees at the agency's Cincinnati office for being 'primarily' responsible.

In addition, acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller resigned his position, revealed by President Obama on Wednesday.

"Secretary Lew took the first step by requesting and accepting the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS, because given the controversy surrounding this audit, it's important to institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward," said President Obama in a statement on Wednesday evening.

Prior to his resignation, Steven Miller called the two Cincinnati employees 'rogue' and 'off the reservation,' adding that they were 'overly aggressive' in handling the requests from those conservative groups over the past two years.

Miller also added that those two employees have already been 'disciplined' by the agency.

However, despite the claim of just two employees being involved, FOX19 has exclusively learned from two separate sources that there could be at least four Cincinnati employees involved.

Those four employees, whose names we have chosen to withhold until they have been officially confirmed, have each worked in the IRS Exempt Organizations Department.

This is the same department that has admitted publicly to sending letters to Tea Party and other conservative organizations.

FOX19 has also confirmed those four Cincinnati employees made large requests of information from:

The Richmond, Virginia Tea Party in January of 2012.
The Ohio Liberty Council in January of 2012..
Dan Backer, a lawyer based in Washington D.C. who helped six small conservative groups apply for 501c4 status in February of 2012.
The Liberty Township Tea Party in March of 2012.

One of FOX19's two sources went on say that these four IRS workers claim "they simply did what their bosses ordered." FOX19 reported on Tuesday that the report by the Office of Inspector General states that senior IRS officials knew agents were targeting Tea Party groups as early as 2011.

In fact, according to that report, Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax exempt organizations, was told on June 29, 2011 that groups with 'Tea Party', 'Patriot' or '9/12 Project' in their names were being flagged for additional, and often burdensome, scrutiny.

While the IRS is pointing at 'two rogue employees,' the number of organizations that were singled out has swelled to nearly 500, according to Rep. Congressmen Darryl Issa and Ohio's Jim Jordan.

FOX News is also reporting that at least two Cincinnati agents have been subpoenaed to testify before congress on Monday.

http://www.fox19.com/story/22265631/four-cincy-irs-workers-not-two-allegedly-connected-to-scandal

Nekochan wrote:

Bob wrote:CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -

FOX19 has exclusively learned that as many as four people may be the first Cincinnati Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees to face disciplinary action, and possibly even criminal charges, for allegedly targeting Tea Party and Liberty groups applying for non-profit status.

On Wednesday, the IRS announced that it had pinpointed two employees at the agency's Cincinnati office for being 'primarily' responsible.

In addition, acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller resigned his position, revealed by President Obama on Wednesday.

"Secretary Lew took the first step by requesting and accepting the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS, because given the controversy surrounding this audit, it's important to institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward," said President Obama in a statement on Wednesday evening.

Prior to his resignation, Steven Miller called the two Cincinnati employees 'rogue' and 'off the reservation,' adding that they were 'overly aggressive' in handling the requests from those conservative groups over the past two years.

Miller also added that those two employees have already been 'disciplined' by the agency.

However, despite the claim of just two employees being involved, FOX19 has exclusively learned from two separate sources that there could be at least four Cincinnati employees involved.

Those four employees, whose names we have chosen to withhold until they have been officially confirmed, have each worked in the IRS Exempt Organizations Department.

This is the same department that has admitted publicly to sending letters to Tea Party and other conservative organizations.

FOX19 has also confirmed those four Cincinnati employees made large requests of information from:

The Richmond, Virginia Tea Party in January of 2012.
The Ohio Liberty Council in January of 2012..
Dan Backer, a lawyer based in Washington D.C. who helped six small conservative groups apply for 501c4 status in February of 2012.
The Liberty Township Tea Party in March of 2012.

One of FOX19's two sources went on say that these four IRS workers claim "they simply did what their bosses ordered." FOX19 reported on Tuesday that the report by the Office of Inspector General states that senior IRS officials knew agents were targeting Tea Party groups as early as 2011.

In fact, according to that report, Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax exempt organizations, was told on June 29, 2011 that groups with 'Tea Party', 'Patriot' or '9/12 Project' in their names were being flagged for additional, and often burdensome, scrutiny.

While the IRS is pointing at 'two rogue employees,' the number of organizations that were singled out has swelled to nearly 500, according to Rep. Congressmen Darryl Issa and Ohio's Jim Jordan.

FOX News is also reporting that at least two Cincinnati agents have been subpoenaed to testify before congress on Monday.

http://www.fox19.com/story/22265631/four-cincy-irs-workers-not-two-allegedly-connected-to-scandal

Have you been watching the news about the kind of personal and invasive questions that the organizations were asked by the IRS investigators? 500 organizations is a big case load for only 4 people to be involved.

Floridatexan wrote:
Oh, horsefeathers. The real scandal is these 501(c)4 classifications springing up out of nowhere...and disappearing just as fast, with no donor disclosure requirements and with no apparent limitations, despite the letter of the law, on spending for political purposes. This also conveniently hides the illegal use of this dodge. What should be done is a revision of the tax code to prohibit these kinds of activity before they become a problem.

Sal wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:
Oh, horsefeathers. The real scandal is these 501(c)4 classifications springing up out of nowhere...and disappearing just as fast, with no donor disclosure requirements and with no apparent limitations, despite the letter of the law, on spending for political purposes. This also conveniently hides the illegal use of this dodge. What should be done is a revision of the tax code to prohibit these kinds of activity before they become a problem.

Well said.

The real outrage is that the IRS didn't deny the tax-exempt status of a single teabagger group.

The Teabagger Party is political to its very core and does not qualify as a social welfare group.

Sal wrote:

The real outrage is that the IRS didn't deny the tax-exempt status of a single teabagger group.

The Teabagger Party is political to its very core and does not qualify as a social welfare group.

Bob wrote:

Sal wrote:

The real outrage is that the IRS didn't deny the tax-exempt status of a single teabagger group.

The Teabagger Party is political to its very core and does not qualify as a social welfare group.

If that's the case then why did Obama fire the head of the IRS? Why does Obama say "Americans have a right to be angry about it and I'm angry about it"?
If you and FloridaTexan are right, then that would make Obama be fulla shit, wouldn't it? lol

PkrBum wrote:It sure is easier to find these stories these days:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/conservative-activist-green-name-gets-irs-stamp-approval-193457897.html

Floridatexan wrote:
Oh, horsefeathers. The real scandal is these 501(c)4 classifications springing up out of nowhere...and disappearing just as fast, with no donor disclosure requirements and with no apparent limitations, despite the letter of the law, on spending for political purposes. This also conveniently hides the illegal use of this dodge. What should be done is a revision of the tax code to prohibit these kinds of activity before they become a problem.

2seaoat wrote:Some people are playing loose with historical connections between what President Nixon did concerning the IRS, and what has currently happened with the IRS.

First, right from the get go, President Nixon put people in the IRS whose mission was to go after the President's political enemies.

Second, there are legitimate questions on the function of the organization which requires IRS scrutiny. The Supreme Court has opened the flood gate, and there most certainly are organizations which have no historic track record to verify purpose and scope of the organization which will be red flagged.

Third, where is one scintilla of evidence that the president has any direct connection with this scandal? I have had to deal with incompetent IRS agents, and it is a nightmare. In the end the system works, and in my case I received my full refund and interest on the refund, and here we will need to let the investigation take its course, but comparing Obama to Nixon is silly and historically inaccurate at this time. If it is shown that he has personally been involved in such a scandal, the evidence will be clear. However, the reality is that there is no such thing, just a bunch of folks who hate the president trying to connect dots before there is evidence.

Nekochan wrote:Who's surprised that FT and Sal support those IRS investigators? If those groups had "Progressive" in their names, I bet they'd be singing a different tune.

I said before and I will say again--everyone should be concerned about this. If it happened to conservative groups, it could happen to liberal groups.

Sal wrote:

Nekochan wrote:Who's surprised that FT and Sal support those IRS investigators? If those groups had "Progressive" in their names, I bet they'd be singing a different tune.

I said before and I will say again--everyone should be concerned about this. If it happened to conservative groups, it could happen to liberal groups.

Bullshit.

I don't think ANY political group should get tax-exempt status.

The problem wasn't that the IRS was flagging teabagger groups.

It's that it wasn't scrutinizing all political groups equally.

Or, more precisely, it wasn't giving the appearance of scrutinizing all political groups equally.

Of the 298 applications investigated, 202 were NOT conservative groups and none of those applications were denied.

Does anyone really believe that teabagger groups are social welfare groups and that their primary purpose is not politics.

C'mon.

Regardless of party affiliation, no political group should get tax-exempt status.

Overturn Citizens United.

PkrBum wrote:

2seaoat wrote:Some people are playing loose with historical connections between what President Nixon did concerning the IRS, and what has currently happened with the IRS.

First, right from the get go, President Nixon put people in the IRS whose mission was to go after the President's political enemies.

Second, there are legitimate questions on the function of the organization which requires IRS scrutiny. The Supreme Court has opened the flood gate, and there most certainly are organizations which have no historic track record to verify purpose and scope of the organization which will be red flagged.

Third, where is one scintilla of evidence that the president has any direct connection with this scandal? I have had to deal with incompetent IRS agents, and it is a nightmare. In the end the system works, and in my case I received my full refund and interest on the refund, and here we will need to let the investigation take its course, but comparing Obama to Nixon is silly and historically inaccurate at this time. If it is shown that he has personally been involved in such a scandal, the evidence will be clear. However, the reality is that there is no such thing, just a bunch of folks who hate the president trying to connect dots before there is evidence.

I doubt obama ordered it or even overtly approved the practice... but the irs is under the treasury dept under the wh.

Plausible deniability is getting old.

Sal wrote:
Of the 298 applications investigated, 202 were NOT conservative groups and none of those applications were denied.

newswatcher wrote:

And Nixon didn't really do the same thing?....Abuse of power....But continue to dismiss and accept the corrupt actions of this administration...There were republicans that defended Nixon out of blind loyalty so it's not surprising that some democrats would do the same today...

Bob wrote:

Sal wrote:
Of the 298 applications investigated, 202 were NOT conservative groups and none of those applications were denied.

I think you just shot yourself in the foot, Sal. If ALL the groups which were not conservative had their applications approved, how in the name of christ is that supposed to strengthen your argument? That's just evidence of the extreme bias, Sal. lol

Nekochan wrote:

Like I said, his supporters don't get it.

2seaoat wrote:I doubt obama ordered it or even overtly approved the practice... but the irs is under the treasury dept under the wh.

Plausible deniability is getting old.

Plausible deniability is getting old.....and conversely what is even getting older is the idea that a CIA operation in Libya the President has direct control of every tactical deployment, that he is directly connected to every patrol which gets ambushed, that he is directly rewriting intelligence, and that he took a course on tax preparation and he is ordering tax audits...........When people attempt to connect the President to every action of this government, legitimate criticism gets lost in stupid..........really now which of the two is getting old?