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America's New Obstruction Of Justice Crisis
American Thinker
Chriss Street
10/13/2013
Excerpt:
The Congressional probe to determine who was responsible for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policy of discriminatory audits and/or retaliatory examinations of conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status just became a criminal obstruction of justice matter. A series of emails released on October 8th by Congressional investigators documents that the former IRS manager of tax exempt determinations, Lois Lerner, and the top IRS official for ObamaCare, Sarah Hall Ingram, disclosed confidential taxpayer information to Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy Jeanne Lambrew and White House health policy advisor Ellen Montz regarding churches who filed suit against ObamaCare's contraception mandate. This action appears to be criminal, but if the motivation was intimidation, the penalties would skyrocket for obstruction of justice.
On May 16, 2013 I published "Did Executive Branch Violate IRS Code 6103" detailing the disclosure of J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, June 4, 2012 disclosure to the General Counsel of the United States Treasury and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin about the details of his investigation into potentially discriminatory and/or retaliatory audits by the IRS against Tea Party and other conservative organization. Disclosure of taxpayer information held by the IRS was considered public record until 1977 and the rules regarding disclosure were under the authority of the Executive Branch. But after the President Nixon IRS scandal, Congress passed Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Tax Code, which eliminated any presidential discretion regarding IRS sharing tax information between different Executive Branch departments and any public disclosure of tax records.
Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code forbids any federal employee to "disclose any return or return information obtained by him in any manner in connection with his service as such an officer or an employee." Under "Title 26 USC § 7213 -- Unauthorized disclosure of information," disclosure of IRS information from tax filers is a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. If such offense is committed by any officer or employee of the United States, he shall be dismissed from office or discharged from employment upon conviction for such offense.
One day earlier, Interim IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller, who holds a Juris Doctorate law degree from George Washington University, a Master of Laws in taxation from Georgetown University, worked for a number of years as an attorney in the IRS Chief Counsel's office and served as a Congressional staff member for the Joint Committee on Taxation, resigned after months of denying he had any knowledge of discriminatory and/or retaliatory actions by the IRS against conservative organizations. On May 12, 2013 I published "IRS HAD ENEMIES LIST IN 2010 & 2012," containing a copy of a July 11, 2011 hand-signed memo on U.S. Treasury Department stationary. The memo warns the IRS Division Commissioners from Small Business, Self-Employed, Tax-Exempt and Government that: "Questions have been raised regarding the application of gift tax to contributions to I.R.C. § 501 (c)(4) organizations. This is a difficult area with significant legal, administrative, and policy implications with respect to which we have little enforcement history. My office will be coordinating with the Office of Chief Counsel to determine whether there is a need for further guidance in this area." The memo contradicted numerous IRS officials who testified to questionable activities regarding conservative organizations started in early in 2012 in the IRS Cincinnati regional office.
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View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/...ce_crisis.html
American Thinker
Chriss Street
10/13/2013
Excerpt:
The Congressional probe to determine who was responsible for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policy of discriminatory audits and/or retaliatory examinations of conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status just became a criminal obstruction of justice matter. A series of emails released on October 8th by Congressional investigators documents that the former IRS manager of tax exempt determinations, Lois Lerner, and the top IRS official for ObamaCare, Sarah Hall Ingram, disclosed confidential taxpayer information to Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy Jeanne Lambrew and White House health policy advisor Ellen Montz regarding churches who filed suit against ObamaCare's contraception mandate. This action appears to be criminal, but if the motivation was intimidation, the penalties would skyrocket for obstruction of justice.
On May 16, 2013 I published "Did Executive Branch Violate IRS Code 6103" detailing the disclosure of J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, June 4, 2012 disclosure to the General Counsel of the United States Treasury and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin about the details of his investigation into potentially discriminatory and/or retaliatory audits by the IRS against Tea Party and other conservative organization. Disclosure of taxpayer information held by the IRS was considered public record until 1977 and the rules regarding disclosure were under the authority of the Executive Branch. But after the President Nixon IRS scandal, Congress passed Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Tax Code, which eliminated any presidential discretion regarding IRS sharing tax information between different Executive Branch departments and any public disclosure of tax records.
Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code forbids any federal employee to "disclose any return or return information obtained by him in any manner in connection with his service as such an officer or an employee." Under "Title 26 USC § 7213 -- Unauthorized disclosure of information," disclosure of IRS information from tax filers is a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. If such offense is committed by any officer or employee of the United States, he shall be dismissed from office or discharged from employment upon conviction for such offense.
One day earlier, Interim IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller, who holds a Juris Doctorate law degree from George Washington University, a Master of Laws in taxation from Georgetown University, worked for a number of years as an attorney in the IRS Chief Counsel's office and served as a Congressional staff member for the Joint Committee on Taxation, resigned after months of denying he had any knowledge of discriminatory and/or retaliatory actions by the IRS against conservative organizations. On May 12, 2013 I published "IRS HAD ENEMIES LIST IN 2010 & 2012," containing a copy of a July 11, 2011 hand-signed memo on U.S. Treasury Department stationary. The memo warns the IRS Division Commissioners from Small Business, Self-Employed, Tax-Exempt and Government that: "Questions have been raised regarding the application of gift tax to contributions to I.R.C. § 501 (c)(4) organizations. This is a difficult area with significant legal, administrative, and policy implications with respect to which we have little enforcement history. My office will be coordinating with the Office of Chief Counsel to determine whether there is a need for further guidance in this area." The memo contradicted numerous IRS officials who testified to questionable activities regarding conservative organizations started in early in 2012 in the IRS Cincinnati regional office.
..............................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/...ce_crisis.html