Our Govt. CANT / WOULDNT do that .......

[XLTer]

Our Govt. CAN'T / WOULD'NT do that .......

For those nay sayers that believe our Govt. would never abuse it's power.....


IRS scrutiny went beyond Tea Party, targeting of conservative groups broader than thought


Published May 13, 2013

FoxNews.com



IRS “targeting” Tea Party groups



Obama: If true, IRS scandal is 'outrageous'



Apology accepted? IRS admits targeting the Tea Party



An IRS campaign to apply additional scrutiny to conservative groups went beyond targeting "Tea Party" and "patriot" groups to include those focused on government spending, the Constitution and several other broad areas.

The additional guidelines created by the agency were part of a timeline, obtained by Fox News, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which is looking into the controversial IRS practice. IRS officials apologized Friday for the scrutiny, but new information suggests senior leaders were apprised of the effort as early as 2011 despite public denials from the top.

Republican lawmakers have vowed to investigate and hold hearings, calling the revelations deeply troubling.

"The conclusion that the IRS came to is that they did have agents who were engaged in intimidation of political groups," Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers told "Fox News Sunday." "I don't care if you're a conservative, a liberal, a Democrat or a Republican, this should send a chill up your spine. It needs to have a full investigation."

A top Democrat -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus -- also said Monday that his committee would launch a "full investigation" into the matter.

"These actions by the IRS are an outrageous abuse of power and a breach of the public's trust. Targeting groups based on their political views is not only inappropriate but it is intolerable," the Montana Democrat said in a statement. "Americans expect the IRS to do its job without passion or prejudice. We need to get to the bottom of what happened here. ... The IRS will now be the ones put under additional scrutiny."

President Obama weighed in as well, saying at a press conference Monday that if the reports are true, "then that's outrageous and there's no place for it -- and they have to be held fully accountable."

Obama said he first found out about the practice on Friday. He said that if agents behaved in a partisan fashion, "I've got no patience with it. I will not tolerate it."

The internal IG timeline shows a unit in the agency was looking at Tea Party and ( "patriot" ) groups dating back to early 2010. But it shows that list of criteria drastically expanding by the time a June 2011 briefing was held. It then included groups focused on government spending, government debt, taxes, and education on ways to "make America a better place to live." It even flagged groups whose file included criticism of "how the country is being run."

By early 2012, the criteria were updated to include organizations involved in "limiting/expanding government," education on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and social economic reform.

Taken together, the findings of the IG and the initial admissions by the IRS Friday are fueling complaints from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Evidence that the IRS was flagging such groups in 2011 was included in a draft inspector general's report obtained Saturday by Fox News and other news organizations and expected to be released in full later this week.

That information seemingly contradicts public statements by IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, who told congressional investigators in March 2011 that specific groups were not being targeted.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday also called the IRS activities chilling and said she was disappointed that President Obama had not condemned the actions.

"This is truly outrageous and it contributes to the profound distrust that the American people have in government," Collins told CNN's "State of the Union." "It is absolutely chilling that the IRS was singling out conservative groups for extra review. And I think that it's very disappointing that the president hasn't personally condemned this."

At about the same time, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney released a statement saying: "If the inspector general finds that there were any rules broken or that conduct of government officials did not meet the standards required of them, the president expects that swift and appropriate steps will be taken to address any misconduct."

Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Friday his committee will hold a hearing on the issue.

The IRS said Friday that it was sorry for what it called the "inappropriate" targeting of the conservative groups during the 2012 elections.

Lois G. Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, said the practice was initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati and was not motivated by political bias.

But on June 29, 2011, Lerner found out that such groups were being targeted, according to the inspector general's report.

She was told at a meeting that groups with "Tea Party," "Patriot" or "9/12 Project" in their names were being flagged for additional and often burdensome scrutiny, the report states.

The 9/12 Project is a group started by conservative TV personality Glenn Beck.

Collins also said she does not believe the activity was limited to "a couple of rogue IRS employees."

"After all," she added, "groups with `progressive' in their names were not targeted similarly."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Read more: IRS scrutiny went beyond Tea Party, targeting of conservative groups broader than thought | Fox News

 

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[gsxraddict]

The only thing I say the government can't and wouldn't do is be honest and show integrity.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

And wasn't it in 2009 that Obama said "jokingly" that he'd send the IRS after his opponents......

Well, maybe he didn't, but with this government of knaves, all he had to do was mention it....

Therefore, one could readily say that it's O's controversy, right in HIS lap....

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I am betting there is a trail that leads to the White House.. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely....

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[onfire]

Wait till line 23000 on your 2015, 1040 asks "How many guns do you own" tax due (You can;t afford it")

 

[XLTer]

This crap just does'nt stop......... Here goes the freedom of press and thier protected sourses .


The PATRIOT ACT at it's finest ........


Justice Department secretly obtained AP phone records


Published May 13, 2013

Associated Press










The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of the calls.

In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown, but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.

In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies.

"There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP's newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP's activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know," Pruitt said.

The government would not say why it sought the records. Officials have previously said in public testimony that the U.S. attorney in Washington is conducting a criminal investigation into who may have provided information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. The story disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an Al Qaeda plot in the spring of 2012 to detonate a bomb on an airplane bound for the United States.

In testimony in February, CIA Director John Brennan noted that the FBI had questioned him about whether he was AP's source, which he denied. He called the release of the information to the media about the terror plot an "unauthorized and dangerous disclosure of classified information."

Prosecutors have sought phone records from reporters before, but the seizure of records from such a wide array of AP offices, including general AP switchboards numbers and an office-wide shared fax line, is unusual.

In the letter notifying the AP, which was received Friday, the Justice Department offered no explanation for the seizure, according to Pruitt's letter and attorneys for the AP. The records were presumably obtained from phone companies earlier this year although the government letter did not explain that. None of the information provided by the government to the AP suggested the actual phone conversations were monitored.

Among those whose phone numbers were obtained were five reporters and an editor who were involved in the May 7, 2012, story.

The Obama administration has aggressively investigated disclosures of classified information to the media and has brought six cases against people suspected of providing classified information, more than under all previous presidents combined.

The White House on Monday said that other than press reports it had no knowledge of Justice Department attempts to seek AP phone records.

"We are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations, as those matters are handled independently by the Justice Department," spokesman Jay Carney said.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the investigative House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on CNN, "They had an obligation to look for every other way to get it before they intruded on the freedom of the press."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in an emailed statement: "The burden is always on the government when they go after private information, especially information regarding the press or its confidential sources. ... On the face of it, I am concerned that the government may not have met that burden. I am very troubled by these allegations and want to hear the government's explanation."

The American Civil Liberties Union said the use of subpoenas for a broad swath of records has a chilling effect both on journalists and whistleblowers who want to reveal government wrongdoing. "The attorney general must explain the Justice Department's actions to the public so that we can make sure this kind of press intimidation does not happen again," said Laura Murphy, the director of ACLU's Washington legislative office.

Rules published by the Justice Department require that subpoenas of records of news organizations must be personally approved by the attorney general, but it was not known if that happened in this case. The letter notifying AP that its phone records had been obtained through subpoenas was sent Friday by Ronald Machen, the U.S. attorney in Washington.

William Miller, a spokesman for Machen, said Monday that in general the U.S. attorney follows "all applicable laws, federal regulations and Department of Justice policies when issuing subpoenas for phone records of media organizations." But he would not address questions about the specifics of the AP records. "We do not comment on ongoing criminal investigations," Miller said in an email.

The Justice Department lays out strict rules for efforts to get phone records from news organizations. A subpoena can be considered only after "all reasonable attempts" have been made to get the same information from other sources, the rules say. It was unclear what other steps, in total, the Justice Department might have taken to get information in the case.

A subpoena to the media must be "as narrowly drawn as possible" and "should be directed at relevant information regarding a limited subject matter and should cover a reasonably limited time period," according to the rules.

The reason for these constraints, the department says, is to avoid actions that "might impair the news gathering function" because the government recognizes that "freedom of the press can be no broader than the freedom of reporters to investigate and report the news."

News organizations normally are notified in advance that the government wants phone records and then they enter into negotiations over the desired information. In this case, however, the government, in its letter to the AP, cited an exemption to those rules that holds that prior notification can be waived if such notice, in the exemption's wording, might "pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation."

It is unknown whether a judge or a grand jury signed off on the subpoenas.

The May 7, 2012, AP story that disclosed details of the CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot occurred around the one-year anniversary of the May 2, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden.

The plot was significant both because of its seriousness and also because the White House previously had told the public it had "no credible information that terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the (May 2) anniversary of bin Laden's death."

The AP delayed reporting the story at the request of government officials who said it would jeopardize national security. Once officials said those concerns were allayed, the AP disclosed the plot, though the Obama administration continued to request that the story be held until the administration could make an official announcement.

The May 7 story was written by reporters Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman with contributions from reporters Kimberly Dozier, Eileen Sullivan and Alan Fram. They and their editor, Ted Bridis, were among the journalists whose April-May 2012 phone records were seized by the government.

Brennan talked about the AP story and investigation in written testimony to the Senate. "The irresponsible and damaging leak of classified information was made ... when someone informed The Associated Press that the U.S. government had intercepted an IED (improvised explosive device) that was supposed to be used in an attack and that the U.S. government currently had that IED in its possession and was analyzing it," he wrote.

He also defended the White House decision to discuss the plot afterward. "Once someone leaked information about interdiction of the IED and that the IED was actually in our possession, it was imperative to inform the American people consistent with government policy that there was never any danger to the American people associated with this Al Qaeda plot," Brennan told senators.


Read more: Justice Department secretly obtained AP phone records | Fox News

 

[bevo]

I didnt work today so, I listened to Glen Beck, Rush, Hannity Mark levin, and now Mike Savage. Levin has a unique point of view, he worked in the justice department under Reagan.
I just don't know what to say, just write letter after letter after letter(email).
This makes me sick to the core.

 

[dieselram94]

I just don't see how people (be it low information voter) could sit there and think Obama is innocent. From day one I saw him on tv I didn't trust him and my gut feeling (which I have learned to trust 100%) has been proven correct. Biden...Same thing, snake in the grass. Obama is undoubtedly behind this and many other scandals. Unfortunately they are just going to sweep them under the rug as too many Americans are more worried about who got thrown off the island

 

[dieselram94]

I didnt work today so, I listened to Glen Beck, Rush, Hannity Mark levin, and now Mike Savage. Levin has a unique point of view, he worked in the justice department under Reagan.
I just don't know what to say, just write letter after letter after letter(email).
This makes me sick to the core.

Good choice in listening!

 

[bevo]

I concur. Not only that, the very first time I saw him I knew he would be community organizer in chief. I don't understand how people can be such suckers.

 

[GMD52]

Watched the "Chiefs" latest temper tantrum on tonights news, his little fiefdom is falling in around him, and he's still saying it's the Republicans fault, all they did is start investigating all these allogations: isn't that their job when the Solicitor Gen. brings these deficiencies into the public domain. It's also evident that emails aren't secure, and that theirs can come back to haunt them also! Time to start movingthese people to the unemployment line!

 

[Native Floridian]

McCarthyism lives in the modern era! Wow, how about that? You guys didn't know that the IRS targets people and groups? You didn't know the FBI does the same? You guys think you aren't on some list some place?

Bevo very balanced listening choices!

 

[Native Floridian]

Oh i left out

 

[dieselram94]

McCarthyism lives in the modern era! Wow, how about that? You guys didn't know that the IRS targets people and groups? You didn't know the FBI does the same? You guys think you aren't on some list some place?

Bevo very balanced listening choices!

Oh I am sure I am on several lists
Bevo's choices in listening is very good. Glen Beck will call out a republican just as fast as a democrat...

 

[bevo]

native. they are the only ones that don't make me puke. So I guess you just made my ignore list, cause Iv'e got a weak stomach. I hope people quit quoting him when you respond cause it makes me read the post on accident.

 

[dieselram94]

You got it Bevo, he is making me sick as well

 

[bevo]

damn it diese I'm eatin.

 

[dieselram94]

I was too until I read his post

 

[bevo]

go to tunein.com the savage nation is on for another hour. And he is riled.

 

[dieselram94]

Thanks, I will head right over.