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| Source: Salon.com |
By Katie Pavlich, Apr. 9, 2014, Twonhall.com
New IRS emails
released by the House Oversight Committee show staff working for Democratic
Ranking Member Elijah Cummings communicated with the IRS multiple times between
2012 and 2013 about voter fraud prevention group True the Vote. True the Vote
was targeted by the IRS after applying for tax exempt status more than two
years ago. Further, information shows the IRS and Cummings' staff asked for
nearly identical information from True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht
about her organization, indicating coordination and improper sharing of
confidential taxpayer information.
Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa,
along with five Subcommittee Chairmen are demanding Cummings provide an
explanation for the staff inquiries to the IRS about True the Vote and for his
denial that his staff ever contacted the IRS about the group.
“Although you have previously denied that your staff made
inquiries to the IRS about conservative organization True the Vote that may
have led to additional agency scrutiny, communication records between your
staff and IRS officials – which you did not disclose to Majority Members or
staff – indicates otherwise,” the letter to Cummings states. “As the Committee
is scheduled to consider a resolution holding Ms. Lerner, a participant in
responding to your communications that you failed to disclose, in contempt of
Congress, you have an obligation to fully explain your staff’s undisclosed
contacts with the IRS.”
The first contact between the IRS and Cummings' staffers
about True the Vote happened in August 2012. In January 2013, staff asked for
more information from the IRS about the group. Former head of tax exempt groups
at the IRS Lois Lerner went out of her way to try and get information to
Cummings' office.The information Cummings received was not shared with Majority
Members on the Committee.
On January 28, three days after staffers requested more
information, Lerner wrote an email to her deputy Holly Paz, who has since been
put on administrative leave, asking, “Did we find anything?” Paz responded
immediately by saying information had not been found yet, to which Lerner
replied, “Thanks, check tomorrow please.”
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