Investigation reveals IRS still badgering conservatives

As Congress investigates the Internal Revenue Service for targeting and badgering conservative groups seeking tax-status designations, and even attacking conservative groups that already had their status letters, Americans can be confident such activity has halted, right? Wrong. A new report from the Thomas More Society reveals that the organization has submitted additional information to U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., who is on the House Committee on Ways and Means, detailing continuing targeting by the IRS. The organization’s report, updated Thursday, explains its first legal memorandum was submitted on May 16, 2013, reporting “salient details of several legal cases handled by Thomas More Society which indicate that the harassment of ‘conservative’ non-profit organizations by the Internal Revenue Service … extends well beyond ‘tea party’ and ‘patriot’ groups and includes ‘pro-life’ or ‘anti-abortion’ groups…” “Since the IRS scandal became public, Thomas More Society has been contacted by numerous other groups seeking legal counsel relating to IRS harassment. This supplemental memorandum addresses three (3) new matters which provide further evidence of illegal, unconstitutional, viewpoint-based IRS harassment of pro-life organizations.” Explained the legal team, “These new cases also illustrate that harassment has been continuing through the present date. The Society is even now responding to IRS inquiries addressed to its client, Emerald Coast Coalition for Life, which go far beyond the IRS’ purview, and which have delayed issuance of its tax exemption.” Evidence already has documented that the IRS has inquired of some conservative and Christian organizations about the content of their prayers, and has tried to extract promises regarding support for abortion. The organization said it has produced more than 250 pages of documentation showing that the federal government still interrogates pro-life groups “beyond the scope of its legal authority, infringing upon these organizations’ First Amendment rights of assembly, free speech and religious liberty.”...more