Mon Jan 1, 0001

IRS Political Targeting

Tea Party / Conservative Group Targeting (2010-2013)

The Scandal

2013: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) audit confirmed IRS used inappropriate criteria to identify political organizations applying for tax-exempt status, including selecting groups with “Tea Party,” “Patriots,” or “9/12” in their names for intensive scrutiny.

From 2010-2012, the IRS Exempt Organizations Unit subjected conservative applications to delays and demands for information about political beliefs, plans to run for office, and names of financial backers.

Lois Lerner

Director of IRS Exempt Organizations Unit. May 10, 2013: apologized in conference call that Tea Party groups had been targeted. Invoked Fifth Amendment before Congress. Held in contempt of Congress (May 2014). Retired September 23, 2013. Justice Department closed investigation October 2015 — no charges brought.

Sealed court documents (obtained by Judicial Watch, 2022): Lerner and deputy Holly Paz acknowledged internally that most targeted organizations were legally entitled to tax-exempt status.

Scale

IRS “Be On The Lookout” (BOLO) lists specifically flagged conservative-sounding names. Applications delayed for years; some groups withdrew rather than endure scrutiny.

2017 TIGTA Report

Exhaustive report found IRS used both conservative AND liberal keywords to choose targets (2004-2013). However, the volume and intensity of scrutiny directed at conservative groups was disproportionate.

Settlements (October 2017)

AG Jeff Sessions announced two settlements:

  1. Linchpins of Liberty + 40 groups: IRS issued formal apology. No monetary settlement; both sides bore own legal fees.
  2. NorCal Tea Party Patriots + 427 groups: $3.5 million payment, apology, and admission of wrongdoing. IRS admitted forcing groups into “illegal delays and unconscionable scrutiny.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2017/10/27/560308997/irs-apologizes-for-aggressive-scrutiny-of-conservative-groups

Comey / McCabe “Random” Audits

The Audits

James Comey (fired by Trump as FBI Director, May 2017): told his 2017 return selected for “random” National Research Program (NRP) audit. Andrew McCabe (fired as FBI Deputy Director): told his 2019 return selected for same program.

The Odds

NRP targeted ~1 in 30,600 returns in 2017. Probability of both being randomly selected: approximately 1 in 82 million.

Context

Trump had publicly called for both to be prosecuted over the Russia investigation.

Investigation

IRS Commissioner Rettig asked Treasury IG to investigate. IG report (December 2022): audits were “randomly selected” and investigation “did not show misconduct.”

Results

Comey: slightly overpaid, received refund. McCabe: slightly underpaid, paid difference.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/irs-inspector-general-audit-was-random-comey-mccabe/index.html Source: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/james-comey-andrew-mccabe-irs-audit-1379030/

January 6 and IRS

What Is Documented

  • Judicial Watch filed FOIA lawsuit against IRS seeking records of potential targeting of J6 protesters and supporters
  • Democratic members of Congress (Rep. Pascrell, Sen. Wyden) publicly called for IRS to investigate the Patriot Freedom Project, a nonprofit providing financial aid to J6 defendants
  • No public evidence to date of systematic IRS auditing campaign specifically targeting J6 defendants

Financial Surveillance of J6 Participants

DOJ obtained financial transaction records to identify participants (documented in death-of-cash.md). Bank of America voluntarily provided customer transaction data for D.C. area purchases January 5-6, 2021.

See also: https://x.com/TheWiseJared/status/2045558177635143802 (Thread documenting financial impacts on J6 defendants — unable to fetch full content due to paywall; review manually for specific claims about frozen accounts, inability to hire counsel, and coerced plea deals.)

Sources