Erick Erickson, CNN political analyst and founder of RedState writes:
Someone within the Internal Revenue Service leaked to the gay-rights organization Human Rights Campaign the private Form 990 of the National Organization of Marriage. The form contains a list of major donors to the National Organization for Marriage. The IRS Form 990 is available for public inspection on request, but the law is very clear that donors are to have their information redacted.
... The Landmark Legal Foundation’s Mark Levin, also a popular radio show host, recently highlighted troubling IRS activities against tea party groups. Many tea party groups in the country claim the IRS is attempting to undermine their 501(c)(3) tax status. The IRS attempts go beyond normal tax challenges demanding specific information into family members, outside groups, affiliates, and deep background on individuals involved as officers of the tea party groups.
The use of the IRS as a political tool to intimidate opponents of the government is positively Nixonian, but only because the income tax and IRS were barely out of the fetal stage for Woodrow Wilson.
5 Comments
I notice NOM had a tribute to the late Chuck Colson a few days back. It's too bad he's not still alive because he knows a thing or two about using the IRS to attack people. I speak from personal experience. Colson apparently thought my late father was worthy of a nasty IRS audit and added him to Nixon's enemies list. Hopefully, we'll find out who is responsible for this leak. Well also find out soon enough who funds NOM's ad campaigns. Time will reveal all things hidden.
Bush (41) used the IRS to intimidate Ross Perot; but Perot did not scare so easy and took the IRS to court forcing them to admit that he was the only person in the United States that had his own personal IRS agent assigned to follow him around everywhere he went.
Scrounger,
Was that a threat?
Last I checked a court ruled that the IRS had to release the documents to the public, not leaked it. You guys need to get your facts straight. Just saying.
Tea Party groups really should not be 501(c)(3) organizations. 501(c)(4) maybe, but it would seem 501(c)(3) has far too many restrictions on political activity for tea party groups to be 501(c)(3).
Sean,
The order was that the IRS had to release a "redacted" copy of the IRS filing.
Redacted: formerly classified documents that were redacted before release to protect still confidential material.
The donors list is classified information protected by law. The courts have found that the main reason for keeping donor lists classified was because, more times than not, that information was used for harassment and intimidation of supporters.
I can see no other reason why you would be demanding this information be made public.