Author Archives: J Christian Adams

Spectacular Richard Fernandez Piece on DOJ and IRS

A very very familiar sight to many of us: “It sounded like people were running wild, doing what they wanted because they could.”

More:

“The task then is to make the unthinkable impossible again; to restore the belief that bad things won’t come in night. For in the end everyone has his turn at power; every party has its time in office. Robert Bolt put the argument succinctly in A Man for all Seasons, when Thomas More explained why he would not trash the law. The law is all we have to keep us off each other’s throats. Destroy the law and all the bets are off. . . . And that really sums it up. The challenge to resolving the scandals is not simply to leave someone holding the bag; to pin it on somebody and return to the same old bad behavior — but to convince everyone — both from the Left and the Right — that these things will never reoccur, that the remainder of second term will be different from the first, and that a third term, will all it implies, can never ever come.”

ABC Analyst: Someone “very close to Obama” authorized IRS

And ABC analyst has said what this blog reported yesterday: that there are a very few number of people in the administration who were 1) obsessed with speech regulation 2) had attacked tea party groups, and 3) had the clout to get the IRS to behave in this fashion.

ABC Link here.  ABC analyst drops bombshell: People very close to Obama authorized IRS actions

“Advisors in the West Wing connected to the campaign operation” were involved in authorizing the IRS behavior. 

As I said yesterday, there are very few people who were at the White House obsessed with speech regulation and also connected with the campaign at the time this plan was hatched.

Some questions to ask: how many of the outside speech regulators, those in favor of government restrictions on campaigns, were visiting the White House, and who were they visiting at the time this plan was hatched in 2010?  The list of people who satisfy points 1-3 above is very short.  Stay tuned.

Familiar Narrative: Downplaying Voter Fraud

After rampant voter fraud in Ohio, certain Democrat election officials are downplaying the crimes.  This is what happens when a chorus of voter fraud deniers in the non-profit sector and voter fraud enablers in academia push a narrative minimizing voter fraud. Lawlessness is excused:


“I am concerned there appears to be an effort by some to make it appear there is more voter fraud than there actually is,” said Tim Burke, Hamilton County’s Board of Elections chairman and the county’s Democratic Party chairman. “We have identified enough of it that we know there is a concern.


“But to extend that to people who did nothing wrong and they should be referred to the prosecutor for a possible felony investigation, I just don’t agree with that,” he added.


So far, the elections board has sent seven cases to the prosecutor for review, with six of them charged with voting-fraud related crimes.



40% Think U.S. Elections Are Fair, 41% Do Not

Voters are now evenly divided when asked if elections in
the United States are fair today, and a solid majority continues to
believe that the U.S. government does not have the consent of the
governed. But the Political Class strongly disagrees.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 40% of
Likely U.S. Voters now consider elections fair to voters, a 17-point
drop in confidence from shortly before Election Day last year. Just as many (41%) say American elections are not fair. Nineteen percent (19%) are not sure.   Rasmussen Reports

Minnesota Election Integrity Group’s IRS Shakedown

Another election integrity group has come forward about their IRS shakedown.  From the Minnesota Majority press release:


IRS Scandal Targeting Conservative Non-Profits Reached into Minnesota


 


Minnesota Majority Also Target of IRS Fishing Expedition


 


 


Minneapolis – Minnesota Majority, the conservative nonprofit which has made election integrity a signature issue over the last several years, received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service in March advising that the group must “voluntarily” provide answers for a an extensive “compliance check” questionnaire, or be subject to a formal IRS examination.


 


Newly appointed Minnesota Majority president Dan McGrath was surprised by the probe, but began the lengthy and costly process of gathering data spanning 7 years to comply with the IRS probe.


 


“We’ve always been in full compliance with state and federal regulations and have always timely submitted all required forms, registrations and tax returns. I couldn’t see any reason we’d be singled out by the IRS for such an extensive request for additional information. Now it appears we have an answer and we’re not alone,” McGrath said. “It was a bit daunting, having just taken over as president and not being familiar with all the details of our organization’s founding, but with help from staff and our accountant, we were able to pull the records together and answer the questions. It wasn’t easy,” he added.


 


It’s become national news that the IRS has admitted to and issued an apology for unfairly targeting conservative and “tea party” groups since at least 2011.


 


Despite the unusual nature of the IRS probe into Minnesota Majority, the organization took on the time and expense required to compile the answers to the inquiry, which is due to be submitted to the IRS at the end of the month.


 


“We’re about ready to submit all the requested data, but we were advised that more questions may follow as we provide answers,” said McGrath. “I don’t know what additional information may be required at this point. It’s already cost our organization considerable time and expense.”


 


In light of the breaking national story, Minnesota Majority is consulting attorneys to see if there’s recourse for unfair political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service.


 

ACLU: Wake Up DOJ Voting Section

The ACLU demands that the Justice Department do something in Wicimico County MD.  That means DOJ is likely to do something in Wicimico County, MD.  After all, the Voting Section hasn’t done much in the way of enforcing Section 2.  Bad news: there’s no flights, just a long awful drive.

UPDATED, h/t to S.