Tipsheet

IRS Targeted Groups Based on Views

Recently-obtained IRS documents highlight how the IRS targeted aspiring 501(c)(4)'s for extra scrutiny in 2011 based on the content of their literature, noting "anti-Obama rhetoric" and (irrelevantly) characterizing some speech as "propaganda."

It will surprise no one that fully 80% of the groups targeted in 2011 were conservative.

The very existence of such a list has significant probative value: It highlights the already- obvious fact that there was a coordinated effort by the IRS to target Tea Party groups. Just a cursory glance at the names on the list yields the unavoidable conclusion that someone (or some group) at the IRS had a clear objective of harassing Americans who simply disagreed with the Obama administration.

Perhaps now, Democrats -- who were trying to peddle a narrative about how the whole targeting scandal was simply an agency effort to be consistent in reviewing applications -- would care to comment. Rep. Cummings? Danny Wuerfel? Anyone? Anyone?