It’s looking worse than we suspected,though the persecution of Catherine Englebrecht raised a lot of flags:
Was there a full-fledged plan to use the full power of the federal government to take the abuse, delay and invasive questioning of conservatives to a new level after President Obama’s re-election? Was there a plan to criminalize the mere act of being a conservative activist? Was there a plan to drum up false charges of “lying” on applications in order to put conservatives in jail?
Lois Lerner’s communications with the Justice Department strongly suggest that there was. The disclosure provides strong, compelling evidence that Obama’s re-election had emboldened many, including government bureaucrats like Lois Lerner, to believe that they could move forward unchallenged to criminalize Americans for exercising their constitutional rights.
I also believe that the players in this scam had identified a target to single out, harass, investigate, silence, destroy, and send to prison. Her name is Catherine Engelbrecht.
Lerner’s email on March 27, 2013, suggests that there was an idea moving within the bureaucracy to hit one or just a few Americans, and prosecute and imprison them, to scare others out of political engagement.
“One IRS prosecution would make an impact and they wouldn’t feel so comfortable doing the stuff,” Lerner wrote to IRS staff. “So, don’t be fooled about how this is being articulated – it is ALL about 501(c)(4) orgs and political activity.”
It was all about conservative 501(c)(4) orgs. Liberal groups were left entirely alone. This was to be a leftwing reign of prosecutorial terror.
And just how high up did it go?
[Update a few minutse later]
The IRS did the bidding of congressional Democrats to silence conservatives.
Nixon asked the IRS to go after his political enemies,and it refused, but that was an impeachable offense. Obama didn’t even have to ask.
It’s all about deceit. It goes to the top, bottom and sides. It permeates the criminal organization we could call the democratic progressive party. It’s coordinated in little groups that meet with other little groups. Most of these little groups live off taxpayers in one way or another working for government or quasi-govt. It doesn’t have to come from the top down. It is laughable to consider this a democratic process.
Taxation is the power that keeps them in power. They could not win otherwise.
“Worse? It’s looking better than ever. The lies of the liberty-addicts will be exposed! The beloved Lois Lerner will emerged unscathed and run for president and ride to victory on a unicorn! Serfdom forever!”–Baghdad Jim.
“I can always guess how many jellybeans are in a jellybean jar, even if I’m wrong.”–dn-guy.
“If Jesus were alive today, he’d be an IRS agent.”–Admiral Chris Gerrib
They haven’t commented yet. They must be sitting by their fax machines waiting for the updated talking points.
Someone will be along to claim that progressive groups were targeted but Tea Party and other conservative groups were handled differently than progressive groups. Progressive groups that were flagged got no additional scrutiny. They went through the normal application process. Conservative groups had all of their cases forwarded to Washington DC where they sat for 13 months before any action was taken. Then when action was taken, it came in the form of endless questions and delays. This is what the IG report said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2013/05/201310053fr-revised-redacted-1.pdf
Lois Lerner needs a taste of her own medicine. Lois Lerner needs to spend a little time in the House jail. Especially since she tried to avail herself with the 5th Amendment. Let her see what happens when government tramples over your Constitutional rights. Let her rot in jail.
Nixon asked the IRS to go after his political enemies,and it refused, but that was an impeachable offense. Obama didn’t even have to ask.
We need to put this on a poster and march the streets with it.
We have fundamentally changed. The bad news is so many people would still vote for him. Those were supposed to only be on the margins but they’re electing people to the highest offices!?
John Hinderaker over at powerlineblog has posted FOI-released redacted versions of e-mails involving Lois Lerner: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/04/todays-irs-documents-what-do-they-show.php
They sure look to me as the IRS counterpart to “Hide the Decline”, that they are discussing the merits of conducting Operation Gotcha on right-of-center groups applying for 501(3)c4 status.
Of course, some of our esteemed forum participants will look at the same e-mails and somberly tell us “there is nothing to see here, move along.” But then President Nixon never thought there was anything incriminating in the “smoking gun” Watergate tape that brought on his resignation (I visited the Presidential Museum, and I saw Mr. Nixon’s exhibit on this topic with my own eyes).
Come to think of it, there is nothing ever overtly incriminating in such communications, it is all about context and interpretation. There is nothing incriminating about a wiretap that records “That leaking faucet has been repaired”, nothing incriminating at all, “. . . Mr. Gotti.”