NOM BLOG

Congressman Camp is Coming to Town, Tell Him to Stop the IRS

 

Editor's Note: This email went out to Congressman Camp's district in Michigan, but the issues surrounding the IRS scandal are of national importance. Please look over the blog post below and then call Congressman Camp at 989-631-2552 to demand that he use his power as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee to resolve this egregious violation of NOM's (and all Americans') rights. And if you have family or friends in Rep. Camp's district, please use the social sharing buttons in the post to share this information with them.

National Organization for Marriage

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Dear Marriage Supporter,

You have a special opportunity to strike a blow for the rule-of-law and the defense of marriage this month. Your Congressman, Dave Camp, is the Chairman of the very important House Ways and Means Committee. This is the Congressional Committee that has been holding hearings on the IRS scandal in Washington, DC.

As you know, NOM has been the victim of a felony crime in that someone within the IRS leaked NOM's confidential tax return in 2012. This criminal provided our tax documents, with the names of several donors, to the Human Rights Campaign and the Huffington Post. It is a felony to have provided this information and to have revealed the confidential names of NOM's donors.

Since learning about this, NOM has filed numerous "Freedom of Information Requests" and demanded that the IRS take action against the perpetrator. To this point NOM has received no satisfactory answer from the IRS as to the status of the investigation or even if one is under way.

The scandal made national news when it was also revealed that the IRS inappropriately targeted conservative organizations for particular scrutiny in the applications for tax-exempt status. However, what happened to NOM goes beyond targeting to a felony crime.

Chairman Camp is holding Town Hall meetings in your district this month to hear from you, his constituents. This is an opportunity for you to go and ask your Congressman, the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, what exactly is being done to get to the bottom of the IRS Scandal and restore the rule of law in Washington.

Friday, August 23, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
James Wickson Library
359 South Franklin Street
Frankenmuth, MI 48734

Friday, August 23, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Isabella County Building - Room 225
200 North Main Street, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48850

Thursday, August 29, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Owosso City Hall - Conference Room
301 West Main Street, Owosso, MI 48867

Thursday, August 29, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Clinton County Courthouse
100 Michigan 21
St. Johns, MI 48879

Friday, August 30, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Gratiot County Courthouse - County Board of Commissioners Room
214 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847

Friday, August 30, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Roscommon County Building - Commissioners Room
500 Lake Street, Roscommon, MI 48853

I urge you to make the time to attend one of the Town Hall meetings the Congressman has scheduled and ask him for an explanation and demand the Ways and Means Committee use its power of subpoena to resolve these issues.

Here are several talking points about the scandal; followed by action items NOM has demanded the Ways and Means Committee take to resolve this issue. We urge you also, as his constituent, to respectfully demand the Ways and Means Committee use all its powers to restore credibility in Washington.

  • In March, 2012, someone at the IRS leaked the National Organization for Marriage's confidential tax return — a felony — to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which posted the document on its website. HRC is NOM's principal opponent in the marriage battle and has waged a war of intimidation and harassment against NOM and those active in the effort to preserve marriage. In early 2012, HRC president, Joseph Solmonese, was appointed a national co-chair of the Obama reelection campaign. A few months later, the publication of NOM's tax return occurred.

  • NOM's published Form 990 Schedule B from 2008 contained the identity of dozens of major NOM donors. NOM knows the document was from internal IRS because under a mask that was applied to the document to hide the origin, which computer programs were able to remove, revealed the internal IRS stamp on the document, on every single page in the same location.

  • In early April 2012 after the publication of their tax returns, NOM asked both the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for investigations. NOM knows TIGTA conducted an investigation, but they never identified the perpetrator of this crime. If charges are brought, federal law requires that the taxpayer be advised.

  • Beginning last August 2012, NOM began filing a series of FOIA and Privacy Act requests with TIGTA and the IRS to try to ascertain the status of the investigation, the identity of the perpetrator, and any information relating to where the decision was made to commit this felony against NOM for obvious political purposes. Those requests have been stonewalled, with the latest non-response response, dated May 3, 2013, claiming that the very same statute that was violated by disclosing our returns shields the identity of the perpetrator as the "subject" of an IRS investigation.

  • The IRS, the DOJ, and TIGTA have not brought charges against the individuals who committed these felonies in over a year, and they are using a convoluted interpretation of the statute prohibiting disclosure to shield the identity of those same individuals from NOM.

  • Insist that the House Ways and Means Committee subpoena Joseph Solmonese, and other HRC staff, to determine exactly by what means HRC obtained NOM's confidential donor information

  • Pursue full disclosure from former Acting IRS Commission Steven Miller. Mr. Miller was unable to provide satisfactory answers to the Committee on May 17th. The Committee should subpoena Mr. Miller and require him to give a full account under oath.

  • Some Congressmen are arguing that the IRS scandal should result in broad based tax reform.

  • Tax reform, though a laudable future goal does not help with the immediate problem before us of the criminal theft of confidential donor information.

  • Left unsolved, the theft of donor data is now perpetuating donor intimidation, further eroding public confidence in the ability to Congress to the people's business and emboldening political opponents to engage in more criminal acts and intimidation.

  • Tax reform will not hold those responsible accountable for their actions. We are looking to Congressman Camp, as Chairman of Ways and Means, to aggressively investigate the theft and publication of donor data by the staff of the IRS and the Human Rights Campaign.

Thank you for taking the time to make your voice heard Chairman Camp, and to move this investigation forward. All Americans should be able to engage in the public discourse about marriage without fear of reprisal or harassment.

You can keep up to date on the latest regarding NOM and the IRS scandal here.

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Contributions or gifts to the National Organization for Marriage, a 501(c)(4) organization, are not tax-deductible. The National Organization for Marriage does not accept contributions from business corporations, labor unions, foreign nationals, or federal contractors; however, it may accept contributions from federally registered political action committees. Donations may be used for political purposes such as supporting or opposing candidates. No funds will be earmarked or reserved for any political purpose. This message has been authorized and paid for by the National Organization for Marriage, 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006, Brian Brown, President. This message has not been authorized or approved by any candidate.
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