The Oversight and Government Reform Committee released the following statement on the new documents discussing potential prosecution of tax exempt groups by the Holder DOJ.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) today released the following statements in response to the release of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents showing former IRS official Lois Lerner in contact with the Justice Department about potential prosecution of tax-exempt groups:
“The release of new documents underscores the political nature of IRS Tea Party targeting and the extent to which supposed apolitical officials took direction from elected Democrats,” said Chairman Issa. “These e-mails are part of an overwhelming body of evidence that political pressure from prominent Democrats led to the targeting of Americans for their political beliefs.”
“Now I see why the IRS is scared to give up the rest of Lois Lerner’s emails,” said Chairman Jordan. “Not only do these e-mails further prove the coordination among the IRS, the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Justice Department and committee Democrats to target conservatives, they also show that had our committee not requested the Inspector General’s investigation when we did, Eric Holder’s politicized Justice Department would likely have been leveling trumped up criminal charges against Tea Party groups to intimidate them from exercising their Constitutional rights.”
For the record – The IRS Conservative Targeting Scandal involved:
- Hundreds of conservative groups were targeted
- At least 5 pro-Israel groups
- Constitutional groups
- Groups that criticized Obama administration
- At least two pro-life groups
- An 83 year-old Nazi concentration camp survivor
- A 180 year-old Baptist paper
- A Texas voting-rights group
- A Hollywood conservative group was targeted and harassed
- Conservative activists and businesses
- At least one conservative Hispanic group
- IRS continued to target groups even after the scandal was exposed
- And… 100% of the 501(c)(4) Groups Audited by IRS Were Conservative
And, now we know they were plotting to prosecute conservative groups.
