NOM BLOG

Monthly Archives: May 2013

NOM Chairman Eastman in USA Today: IRS Committed Political Sabotage

NOM's Chairman John Eastman has published a column in USAToday which we urge you to read and share!

"...For the IRS to leak any organization's tax return to its political opponents is an outrageous breach of ethics and, if proven, constitutes a felony. Every organization — liberal and conservative — should shudder at the idea of the IRS playing politics with its confidential tax return information. But the situation here is even more egregious because the head of the HRC was at the time serving as a national co-chair of President Obama's re-election campaign.

The release of NOM's confidential tax return to the Human Rights Campaign is the canary in the coal mine of IRS corruption. Contrary to assertions that the targeting of Tea Party groups was an error in judgment by low-level IRS bureaucrats, the release of NOM's confidential data to a group headed by an Obama campaign co-chair suggests the possibility of complicity at the highest levels of politics and government. This wasn't a low-level error in judgment; it was a conscious act to reward a prominent Obama supporter while punishing an opponent.

That's the reason the IRS has not been very interested in getting to the bottom of what happened. Federal investigators have interviewed NOM officials about the matter, but our efforts to find out what has become of the investigation have been stonewalled at every turn."

 

 

Help Us Expose the Truth About the IRS!

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Of all the scandals plaguing the Obama administration this week, the revelation that the Internal Revenue Service targeted Tea Party and conservative groups for harassment during the last Presidential election is perhaps the most shocking.

But it pales in comparison to what we have been attempting to expose for over a year: that the IRS is also guilty of leaking our confidential tax return to our opponents at the Human Rights Campaign!

Now that the eyes of the nation are fixed on this exploding IRS scandal, this is our opportunity to expose the truth!

That's why I'm asking you to make an immediate gift of $35, $50 or $100 to help us call on Congress to investigate the IRS.

Only the unique powers of Congress to subpoena, question and investigate will help us expose the truth about how HRC's Joe Solmonese, a national co-chair of the campaign to reelect President Obama, came to possess the confidential documents NOM submitted only to the IRS to comply fully with the law.

This is the smoking gun that proves the IRS not only harassed conservative groups, it went so far as to release confidential and sensitive information to their liberal opponents in a Presidential election year! What's very clear is that the IRS still has more to hide and Americans deserve to know the full truth.

Your immediate donation of $50, $100 or $250 will help NOM expose the truth by making sure Congress takes immediate steps to hold those who are guilty accountable!

Already we've had huge success calling attention to this critical story. The front page of the Drudge Report, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and many more top news outlets are covering our story today.

But I need your help to ensure Congress launches an investigation into what the IRS did to NOM and how it came to be that an Obama campaign co-chair gained possession our private and confidential tax returns.

Please be generous and help us expose the truth with your most generous
contribution today of $100, $200 or even $500 if you have the means.

Thank you — we will never stop fighting to expose the truth and fight for the truth of marriage.

Politico, The Hill, Fox News, Breitbart, HotAir Cover NOM's Announcement on Suing the IRS

More and more top news outlets are drawing attention to this important story!

Politico:

IRS-NOM News"...In April 2012, the Huffington Post and the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, posted IRS documents indicating GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had given $10,000 to the anti-gay marriage group. While the same inspector general who uncovered the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups was investigating the case, NOM has been frustrated with the pace of the investigation."

The Hill:

"...For over a year, NOM has argued that the IRS directly leaked confidential tax information, which included a list of private donors. With the IRS back under harsh scrutiny after it apologized for targeting Tea Party groups, NOM is taking legal action, and inviting other conservative causes to do so as well."

FoxNews:

"...Accusations of improper IRS behavior surfaced again in 2012 when a prominent anti-gay marriage group accused the agency of leaking private tax files that listed then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney's group as a contributor. The National Organization for Marriage documents were later published by a group whose president was tied to the Obama re-election campaign.

NOM claimed that someone from the IRS fed the liberal Human Rights Campaign documents listing its 2008 contributors. On that list was a $10,000 donation from Romney’s political action committee. The Human Rights Campaign then published the documents online, saying it had uncovered one of the group’s “top secret donors,” and accused Romney of attacking lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality."

Breitbart.com:

"...The National Organization for Marriage, a conservative organization whose confidential records were leaked by the IRS to its left-wing critics, announced on Tuesday it will sue the tax agency for damages. NOM’s 2008 tax return was, according to a press release the group sent out on Tuesday, taken by the IRS and subsequently leaked to its primary political opponent the Human Rights Campaign."

HotAir.com:

"...Matt Lewis reported on the leak at the time, which culminated in HuffPo trying to make political hay of a Romney-affiliated donation to NOM. In 2012, NOM requested an investigation by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the same office that authored the draft report on the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups, which is to be released this week. They were interviewed, but never heard anything of an investigation’s process: “Nothing has come of the investigation if there is indeed one, and the agency has refused to answer any questions about the status of its examination,” NOM said in a press release."

Top of Drudge: Claim: Obama Co-Chair Attacked Romney With Leaked IRS Docs

Our press release yesterday is now top news on Drudge Report this morning:

Screen shot 2013-05-15 at 9.18.55 AM

That headline links to this story on Brietbart.com:

One of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign co-chairmen used a leaked document from the IRS to attack GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney during the 2012 election, according to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).

NOM, a pro-traditional marriage organization, claims the IRS leaked their 2008 confidential financial documents to the rival Human Rights Campaign. Those NOM documents were published on the Huffington Post on March 30, 2012. At that time, Joe Solmonese, a left-wing activist and Huffington Post contributor, was the president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Solmonese was also a 2012 Obama campaign co-chairman.

... “Not only has Romney signed NOM’s radical marriage pledge, now we know he’s one of the donors that NOM has been so desperate to keep secret all these years,” Solmonese added.

Solmonese resigned his position at HRC the next day and took up a position as an Obama campaign co-chair.

Human Events: More IRS Abuses of Power Against Conservative Groups (Including NOM)

Shout-out to John Hayward of Human Events for including NOM's longstanding complaint along with other alleged IRS abuses:

Agent Smith"...The National Organization for Marriage, a prominent group that holds the opinion Obama used to agree with, has a long-standing complaint about confidential tax information somehow finding its way into the hands of the Human Rights Campaign, a group that supports Obama’s new position… and is headed by the co-chair of the Obama 2012 campaign.  NOM renewed its calls for justice when the IRS scandal exploded."

WSJ's Taranto Notes: HRC/HuffPo Published NOM's 990

James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal lists our case as a possible example of the IRS targeting groups for ideological reasons:

• In March 2012, the Puffington Host published a confidential form that the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, had filed with the IRS. The website obtained the document from the Human Rights Campaign, a pro-same-sex-marriage outfit. In a press release issued today, NOM says its analysis of the images "has determined that the documents came directly from the Internal Revenue Service."

The Daily Caller: IRS Admits to Targeting Conservative Groups, But Did They Also Leak Documents?

Matt K. Lewis of The Daily Caller points out that most reporters have neglected to report that the IRS is guilty not only of targeting conservative groups, but also of leaking NOM's private tax documents -- clearly a broader investigation is needed:

IRS LeakA little over a year ago, I reported that, ”It is likely that someone at the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked confidential donor information showing a contribution from Mitt Romney’s political action committee to the National Organization for Marriage, says the group.”

Now — on the heels of news the IRS’s apology for having targeted conservative groups — NOM is renewing their demand that the Internal Revenue Service reveal the identity of the people responsible.

“There is little question that one or more employees at the IRS stole our confidential tax return and leaked it to our political enemies, in violation of federal law,” said NOM’s president Brian Brow, in a prepared statement. “The only questions are who did it, and whether there was any knowledge or coordination between people in the White House, the Obama reelection campaign and the Human Rights Campaign. We and the American people deserve answers.”

National Organization for Marriage Condemns Minnesota Legislature for Redefining Marriage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 13, 2013
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)


"Make no mistake, this vote will bring the demise of the DFL majority and end the careers of wayward Republicans in the Legislature once voters have their say." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C.The National Organization for Marriage today condemned the Minnesota Legislature for redefining marriage and predicted that the vote will lead to the DFL losing their majority in the 2014 election.

"Just six months ago advocates of redefining marriage said that there was no need for the marriage amendment because Minnesota already had a traditional marriage law on the books. Now, they’ve changed that law and imposed genderless marriage,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “Make no mistake, this vote will bring the demise of the DFL majority and end the
careers of wayward Republicans in the Legislature once voters have their say."

In November 2012, the state narrowly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Opponents of the amendment argued, among other things, that it was not needed since the state already defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Because of their financial advantages (outspending supporters of the amendment by nearly $7 million) they won a narrow victory.

"The people of Minnesota did not vote for gay marriage in 2012,” said Brown. “They voted to maintain traditional marriage by maintaining the status quo. Our opponents bought a victory by claiming that marriage was not under threat of redefinition, but in fact they always intended to redefine it at the soonest possible moment. Legislators who voted to redefine marriage were foolish to do so. They cast a terrible vote that damages society, tells children they don’t deserve a mother and a father, and brands supporters of traditional marriage as bigots. We predict that this vote will be career ending for many legislators in Minnesota."

NOM was the largest funder of the marriage amendment campaign in 2012.

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], or Jennifer Campbell [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

Politico: NOM Calls for Hearing After IRS Flap

Our press release today on the growing IRS scandal and its connection to what happened to our private tax return is gaining attention -- including on capitol hill and Politico:

The National Organization for Marriage hopes revelations about the IRS unfairly targeting conservative groups can revitalize an investigation into who leaked its donor information last year.

“This is what happens in the Soviet Union,” NOM President Brian Brown told POLITICO on Monday. “This is not what happens in the United States of America.”

In April 2012, the Huffington Post and the Human Rights Campaign posted documents showing GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney donated $10,000 to NOM in 2008. The anti-gay marriage group immediately cried foul and called for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration — the same investigators who are set to release a report on the IRS targeting later this week — to investigate, accusing IRS employees of leaking the documents.

... Brown said the group wants a congressional hearing to look into the document release, since the group’s attempts to use the Freedom of Information Act to stay updated on the case have been unsuccessful.

“Without a congressional hearing and Congress’ subpoena power, where are we?” Brown asked. “All we’re getting is what [the IRS] wants to say.”

You Won’t Believe What They Called You

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Name-calling is wrong. Don't stereotype and make unfair generalizations. It's bad to single people out for mockery and stigmatization.

These are all values that Hollywood liberals claim to hold.

Unless, that is, you support marriage. Then, apparently, all bets are off.

You're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you, but if you already know of the incredible hypocrisy in Hollywood please make a donation right now to help NOM counteract their hateful and destructive propaganda aimed at defenders of marriage like us.

Thanks to a generous donor, your gift today will be matched dollar-for-dollar, DOUBLING the impact it will have in the fight to defend marriage.

This week a NOM supporter sent me a mock Public Service Announcement video narrated by George Takei (of the original Star Trek television series) and featuring two gay actors, Jesse Tyler Ferguson of ABC's Modern Family and Brad Goreski, who has a new show on Bravo. The video was produced to promote an organization which gives money to gay marriage initiatives.

Here's how Takei's narration begins as he describes an actor, "Dale," who represents a "typical" supporter of traditional marriage:

There is one person living on this street whose orientation threatens to destroy society... What you can't tell about Dale is that he's sick. He opposes marriage equality. Dale looks normal, but he gives off clues of his prejudice with buzzwords like "pro-family", "traditional marriage" or...

I'm not able to finish this quotation because it includes an offensive reference to oral sex.

The video goes on to say that "Dale would let any two idiots marry, unless those two idiots are gay." In the video, Dale is seen shouting at and arguing with his wife, and Takei points out he's been divorced twice. Takei says his current wife is unhappy being married to Dale and shows Dale having a drinking problem.

The video keeps up in this vein for a couple more minutes before concluding:

The most important thing to remember when dealing with people who don't support marriage equality is to be kind. They're most likely hiding their own homosexuality [Editor's Note: Dale pinches a man's butt as this line is delivered] ... besides these people don't know they're being a**holes.

In other words, Dale is a sick, bigoted, ignorant, drunken, hypocritical, fill-in-the-blank.

But you see, the producers of this video want your friends, family and the rest of society to believe that you are Dale.

This video is unbridled hatred and bigotry towards people like you and me who believe in marriage. Some gay marriage activists clearly believe their own propaganda that gay marriage is inevitable, and now they are no longer attempting to hide their loathing and hatred of good people like you and me who simply believe marriage is the unique and special union of husband and wife.

If you are outraged as I am over this video please help counteract its desired effect by taking a stand for marriage by donating $35, $50, $100 or $500 to NOM today to support our efforts to protect marriage and good people like you who believe in marriage.

This video is already making the rounds and has been promoted by the popular website BuzzFeed. And the three actors involved aren't nobodies—one is a well-known actor on an ABC primetime sitcom, the second has his own show on Bravo, and the third appeared in the original Star Trek series.

We can't afford to let this kind of overt prejudice and bigotry against good people who believe in marriage become mainstream!

Please give your most generous gift today to support NOM's essential mission to protect marriage in law and society and to stand up for the dignity and rights of the good people who believe in marriage as it has always been defined.

Thank you and God bless you in this good fight.

National Organization for Marriage Renews Demand That IRS Come Clean On Stolen and Leaked Tax Return; Seeks Investigation Into Possible White House or Obama Campaign Role

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 13, 2013

Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)

"There is little question that one or more employees at the IRS stole our confidential tax return and leaked it to our political enemies, in violation of federal law." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C. — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today renewed its demand that the Internal Revenue Service reveal the identity of the employee or employees responsible for stealing the organization's confidential Form 990 tax return and leaking it to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). At the time of the theft, the HRC had long-sought to know the identity of NOM's major donors and its chief executive was a co-chair of President Obama's reelection campaign. The Form 990 that was leaked to the HRC contained the identity of numerous major donors to the organization.

"There is little question that one or more employees at the IRS stole our confidential tax return and leaked it to our political enemies, in violation of federal law," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "The only questions are who did it, and whether there was any knowledge or coordination between people in the White House, the Obama reelection campaign and the Human Rights Campaign. We and the American people deserve answers."

In March 2012 the Human Rights Campaign and the Huffington Post published NOM's Form 990 Schedule B from 2008 containing the identity of dozens of donors. The HRC claimed the tax return was provided by a ‘whistleblower.' For months previous to the publication, the HRC had been demanding that NOM publicly release this confidential information even though federal law protects the identity of contributors to nonprofit groups. The publication of NOM's tax return occurred just a few months after Joseph Solmonese, then president of the HRC, was appointed a national co-chair of the Obama reelection campaign. An analysis of the published documents shows that they could only have originated with the IRS.

"We've seen in recent days an admission that the IRS intentionally targeted conservative groups for harassment and scrutiny," Brown said, "but what NOM has experienced suggests that problems at the IRS are potentially far more serious than even these latest revelations reveal."

Following publication of NOM's confidential tax return and a complaint to the IRS, investigators with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) interviewed NOM officials about the theft. Nothing has come of the investigation if there is indeed one, and the agency has refused to answer any questions about the status of its examination.

Brown concluded, "No group should ever be subjected to the IRS leaking its confidential tax return to its political enemies. But when the recipient of the stolen information is a group headed by a co-chair of the President's reelection campaign, serious concerns arise. We have no way of knowing if people within the White House, the Obama reelection campaign or the HRC had any role in the crime, but we call on the Congress to investigate. So far, we've heard nothing from the federal government even though they've had all the facts for over a year."

###

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], or Jennifer Campbell [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

Background: On March 30, 2012, the Huffington Post published NOM's confidential 2008 tax return filed with the IRS, which it said came from the Human Rights Campaign. The HRC has said on its own site the documents came from a "whistleblower." However, NOM has determined that the documents came directly from the Internal Revenue Service.

The document above is as it appeared when published by the Huffington Post. However, that document was modified in a failed attempt to obscure its source. There is a label visibly obscuring a portion of each page, and it was determined that information on the top of each page was also obscured in the version posted on the Huffington Post.

After software removed the layers obscuring the document, it is shown that the document came from the Internal Revenue Service. The top of each page says, ""THIS IS A COPY OF A LIVE RETURN FROM SMIPS. OFFICIAL USE ONLY." On each page of the return is stamped a document ID of "100560209." Only the IRS would have the Form 990 with "Official Use" information.

To view Letters to the IRS, HRC and Huffington Post with attachments, click here.

LTE: Rhode Island’s Elected Officials Gave in to Bullying

Marla Parker writes to The Westerly Sun:

The SunThis is in response to the April 22 letter to The Sun by Chris Irwin in which she charges the National Organization for Marriage and the Rev. Raymond Suriani with “bullying.” I ask “who’s bullying whom?”

It is Ms. Irwin’s baseless complaint to the IRS against the Rev. Suriani that constitutes bullying.

She contacted the IRS alleging that the Rev. Suriani engaged in political lobbying when he reminded his parishioners of church teaching on homosexuality and marriage, and encouraged them to exercise their right as American citizens by contacting their senator, whose duty is to represent them and their views at the Statehouse.

This harassment leveled against the Rev. Suriani is a typical intimidation tactic designed to silence all those who disagree with the gay agenda, and it is just the tip of the iceberg. In Sweden and Canada, ministers were jailed for quoting from the Bible and preaching against homosexual behavior once marriage was redefined there.

The redefinition of marriage impacts personal lives well beyond same-sex couples. One’s choice of a partner does not concern me, but when they come to our legislatures and courts and force the rest of us to recognize and accept their relationship as identical to that of a man and a woman, it affects everyone.

U.S. Bishops Launch National Bulletin Insert on Marriage and the Supreme Court

Catholic Bishops working actively to better educate and inform Catholics about their church's teachings on marriage and family. This is being shared with all American bishops for distribution in May and June.

You can download a PDF of the bulletin insert here.

Stained GlassHere are some of the messages it promotes:

Be a witness for the truth of marriage in word and action. Take advantage of opportunities to speak about marriage’s unique meaning in conversation with friends, family, neighbors or co-workers. Share the truth in love.

Everyone has inviolable dignity and deserves love and respect. There are many ways to protect the basic human rights of all, but redefining marriage serves no one’s rights, least of all those of children.

What is marriage? Marriage is the permanent and exclusive union of one man and one woman, for the good of the spouses and for the procreation and education of children. One man, one woman—for life. (See Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, no. 48).

The difference is the difference. Men and women matter. They are equal but different. Sexual difference is essential to marriage.

Mothers and fathers matter. They aren’t interchangeable. Every child has a basic, natural right to come from and be raised in the loving marital union of his or her own father and mother.

Protecting marriage matters to everyone. It’s Catholic social teaching 101: pro-woman, pro-man, pro-child. Redefining marriage in the law says many false things: women – mothers – are dispensable; men – fathers – are dispensable; what adults want trumps what a child deserves and has a basic right to. (Marriage Unique for a Reason blog)

IRS Apologizes for Targeting Conservative Groups

This news should prompt a renewed investigation into how our confidential tax documents were released by the IRS:

IRSThe Internal Revenue Service inappropriately flagged conservative political groups for additional reviews during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status, a top IRS official said Friday.

Organizations were singled out because they included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their applications for tax-exempt status, said Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups.

In some cases, groups were asked for their list of donors, which violates IRS policy in most cases, she said.

"That was wrong. That was absolutely incorrect, it was insensitive and it was inappropriate. That's not how we go about selecting cases for further review," Lerner said at a conference sponsored by the American Bar Association.

...Many conservative groups complained during the election that they were being harassed by the IRS. They accused the agency of frustrating their attempts to become tax exempt by sending them lengthy, intrusive questionnaires.

The forms, which the groups made available at the time, sought information about group members' political activities, including details of their postings on social networking websites and about family members. (AP)

Brian Brown: Delaware Gay Marriage Vote Will Be Campaign Issue Next Election

Brian Brown spoke with the Associated Press about the fact that gay marriage will be a political issue in the next elections in states where legislators -- especially Republican legislators -- voted to redefine marriage:

Delaware State Capitol"...opponents of gay marriage say Delaware lawmakers will face consequences for supporting the measure, which cleared the Senate on a 12-9 vote and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jack Markell barely half an hour later.

“I think there will be some people that will be replaced,” said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, a conservative group opposed to same-sex marriage.

Brown said he thinks both Cloutier and Rep. Michael Ramone of Newark, the only other Republican lawmaker to vote for gay marriage, will be defeated if they seek re-election.

“Either in a primary or in a general election, we don’t really care,” Brown said, adding that plenty of Democrats oppose gay marriage.

“The reality is that these were very close votes, even with a supermajority of Democrats in Delaware,” he noted. “They needed 11, they got 12.”

While gay marriage is now the law of Delaware, Brown said his group would work to overturn it.

“It may take a long time ... but we’ll continue to fight and continue to support candidates who support traditional marriage,” he said."