There's nothing faux about targeting LW groups, either.
That's why there is no scandal. Ask the IG.
Targeting of progressive groupsOn June 24, 2013, new IRS commissioner Danny Werfel revealed that an internal investigation had discovered that the targeting was both broader and longer-lasting than had previously been known. The report found that words such as "Israel," "progressive" and "Occupy" were also used as red-flags for greater scrutiny, and that screeners were still using such lists up until May 2013. [9] A spokesman for the Inspector General's office in charge of the IRS audit said they had been asked by House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) “to narrowly focus on Tea Party organizations.” [100]
It was revealed two days later that while certain progressive groups also faced long delays in getting the IRS to approve their applications, the progressive groups were not subjected to the same level of scrutiny as Tea Party groups. [101]
On June 27, 2013, responding to letters from Rep. Sander Levin, the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee, Inspector General J. Russell George's office released a letter to Levin about the scrutiny of groups with "progressive" in their names. [102] [103] [104] [105] Contradicting earlier claims of George's office, the letter acknowledged that he knew that the word "progressive" had appeared in IRS screening documents. [104] [105] However, he said that the "Progressives" criteria was on a part of the "Be On the Look Out" (BOLO) spreadsheet labeled "Historical," and, unlike other BOLO entries, didn't say how to refer flagged cases. While he had many sources confirming the use of "Tea Party" and related criteria described in the report, including employee interviews and e-mails, he found no indication in any of those other materials that "Progressives" was a term used to refer cases for scrutiny for political campaign intervention." [102] The letter further stated that out of the 20 groups applying for tax-exempt status whose names contained "progress" or "progressive", 6 had been chosen for more scrutiny as compared to all of the 292 groups applying for tax-exempt status whose names contained "tea party", "patriot", or "9/12." [105](subscription required)[106][7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_IRS_scandal#Targeting_of_progressive_groups
It appears that the real scandal, Ike's admin deciding that "exclusively" social welfare meant "primarily" SW which meant 51% SW, has been resolved.
Treasury, IRS Will Issue Proposed Guidance for Tax-Exempt Social Welfare OrganizationsInitial Proposed Guidance Clarifies Qualification Requirements and Seeks Public Input
IR-2013-92, Nov. 26, 2013
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today will issue initial guidance regarding qualification requirements for tax-exemption as a social welfare organization under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. This proposed guidance defines the term “candidate-related political activity,” and would amend current regulations by indicating that the promotion of social welfare does not include this type of activity. The proposed guidance also seeks initial comments on other aspects of the qualification requirements, including what proportion of a 501(c)(4) organization’s activities must promote social welfare.
irs.gov |
