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Top
IRS official will invoke 5th Amendment
By Richard Simon and Joseph Tanfani
A
top IRS official in the division that reviews nonprofit groups will invoke the
5th Amendment and refuse to answer questions before a House committee
investigating the agency’s improper screening of conservative nonprofit groups. Lois Lerner,
the head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS, won’t answer
questions about what she knew about the improper screening — or why she
didn’t disclose it to Congress, according to a letter from her defense lawyer,
William W. Taylor III. Lerner was scheduled to appear before the House
Oversight Committee on Wednesday. “She
has not committed any crime or made any misrepresentation but under the
circumstances she has no choice but to take this course,” said a letter by
Taylor to committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Vista). The letter, sent Monday,
was obtained Tuesday by the Los Angeles Times.
Taylor, a criminal
defense attorney from the Washington firm Zuckerman Spaeder, said that the
Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation, and that the House
committee has asked Lerner to explain why she provided “false or misleading
information” to the committee four times last year. Since Lerner won’t answer
questions, Taylor asked that she be excused from appearing, saying that would
“have no purpose other than to embarrass or burden her.” There was no immediate
word whether the committee will grant her request. According to an inspector
general’s report, Lerner found out in June 2011 that some staff in the
nonprofits division in Cincinnati had used terms such as “Tea Party” and
“Patriots” to select some applications for additional screening of their
political activities. She ordered changes.
But
neither Lerner nor anyone else at the IRS told Congress, even after repeated
queries from several committees, including the House Oversight panel, about
whether some groups had been singled out unfairly.
~~~~~~
According to a
lawsuit filed by an unnamed healthcare provider, the IRS illegally seized 60 million medical records
in 2011. The IRS had obtained a search
warrant to obtain the financial records of one person. By the time IRS
agents were through, they not only acquired that individual’s financial records
but they also seized the medical records of 10 million US citizens. Nothing
in the warrant gave the IRS agents permission to access or seize any medical
records.
A UPI report on the
lawsuit stated:
“Despite knowing that these medical records were not within the scope of the
warrant, defendants threatened to ‘rip’ the servers containing the medical data
out of the building if IT personnel would not voluntarily hand them over.”
If proven that the
medical files were seized illegally, the IRS could also be facing charges of violating
medical privacy laws. Additionally, IRS agents are accused of seizing
workers’ cell phone and telephone records, which were also not covered in the
search warrant. In the lawsuit, the IRS is being charged with being invasive,
unlawful and that they stole personal medical records that contained how people
were being treated and the therapy they were receiving for various medical
ailments. The healthcare provider filing the suit is asking for $25,000
compensatory damages per violation. If each medical record seized is
considered a violation, which in fact it should be, that would equate to a
possible $250 billion judgment. In the past 2 weeks, we have been learning more
and more about just how corrupt the IRS has become. They operate as if
they are above the law and untouchable, allowing them to do anything and bully
anyone around that they want. I believe that this is the time for someone like
Sen. Rand Paul to come and push for a complete overhaul of the federal income tax system along
with the IRS. With the integrity of the IRS being challenged in multiple
scandals, the time has never been riper for a push to overhaul the system.
~~~~~~~
Biden
Now Blamed in SEAL Team 6 Deaths
The families of
three fallen Navy SEAL Team Six members say President Obama and Vice President
Biden are culpable for the deaths of their sons for publicly identifying the
unit that killed Osama bin Laden and pursuing policies that coddle Muslims and
put our own troops at a tactical disadvantage. SEAL Team Six carried out the
daring raid in Pakistan in early May 2011. Three months later, three members of the unit were among 38 killed in a
Chinook helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Twenty-five of the dead were special
operations forces. Larry Klayman is founder of Freedom Watch the
attorney representing three of the families who lost their sons. He said the Obama administration carelessly
and illegally revealed the role of SEAL Team Six shortly after announcing the
successful mission to kill bin Laden.
“Shortly after that successful raid on bin Laden, the
president – through the vice president for political purposes –
released the name of SEAL Team Six. That’s classified information, and even
(then) Defense Secretary Robert Gates was critical of that. So that was like
putting a target on the backs of the sons of my clients,” said Klayman, who
revealed the helicopter may have been infiltrated by the Taliban before the
crash because the Afghans on board were last-minute changes from the names on
the original flight manifest. Klayman said Vice President Joe Biden deserves
special blame for these deaths. Biden did something, which was more than
irresponsible. He served on foreign relations committees, intelligence
committees. He knew, or should have known, what he was doing. He should be held
accountable. Frankly, he should even be held criminally accountable for doing
that,” Klayman said.
In addition to the
identification of the the team, Klayman said the Obama administration is
culpable for these deaths due to a policy of coddling Muslims and putting
tremendous restrictions on U.S. forces.
~~~~~~
Exclusive:
Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out
by Josh
Rogin
Raymond Maxwell, the only official at the
State Department's bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to lose his job after the
attacks, tells Josh Rogin that he’s been scapegoated by Hillary Clinton’s team.
Following the attack in Benghazi, senior State Department officials close
to Hillary Clinton ordered the removal of a mid-level official who had no role
in security decisions and has never been told the charges against him. He is
now accusing Clinton’s team of scapegoating him for the failures that led to
the death of four Americans last year. Raymond Maxwell
was placed on forced “administrative leave” after the State Department’s own
internal investigation, conducted by an Administrative Review Board (ARB) led
by former State Department official Tom Pickering. Five months after he
was told to clean out his desk and leave the building, Maxwell remains in
professional and legal limbo, having been associated publicly with the death of
Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American for reasons that remain
unclear. Maxwell, who served as deputy assistant
secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs from August 2011 until his removal
last December, following tours in Iraq and Syria, spoke publicly for the first
time in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast. “The overall goal is to restore my honor,”
said Maxwell, who has now filed grievances regarding his treatment with the
State Department’s human resources bureau and the American Foreign Service
Association, which represents the interests of foreign-service officers.
The other three officials placed on leave were in the diplomatic security
bureau, leaving Maxwell as the only official in the bureau of Near Eastern
Affairs (NEA), which had responsibility for Libya, to lose his job. “I had no
involvement to any degree with decisions on security and the funding of
security at our diplomatic mission in Benghazi,” he said.
~~~~~~
What
did Obama do on 9/11/2012?
Jack Cashill asks if BHO pulled a Clinton a
la '96 during Benghazi attack
On this past Sunday
morning, Chris Wallace of Fox News grilled the administration’s newly anointed
flak catcher, White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer. One critical question
was how Obama spent that long night of
Sept. 11, 2012, while his charges were busy dying in Benghazi. “With
all due respect,” asked Wallace, “you didn’t answer my question. What did the
president do that night?” This was a good question and one that prompts
a careful look at the time line.
At
3:40 p.m. Washington time
on Sept. 11, 2012, U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens in Benghazi called
his No. 2 man, Greg Hicks, and told him, “We’re under attack.”
(All times cited
will be EDT, six hours earlier than Libyan time).
At
4:05 p.m. the State
Department Operations Center issued an alert to all relevant agencies, “U.S.
Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack.”
At
4:25 p.m. a six-member CIA
team headed by Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods arrived at Stevens’ compound from the
nearby annex. Under heavy fire, Woods’ team recovered the body of Foreign
Service IT specialist Sean Smith but could not find Stevens’ body in the
burning building.
At
5 p.m. President Barack
Obama had a pre-scheduled meeting with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who
briefed him on the Benghazi situation.
At
6 p.m. Woods and his CIA
team arrived back at the annex, which they would defend Alamo-style for the
next six hours. They would kill an estimated 60 Libyans before the night was
through.
At
6:07 p.m. the State
Department Operations Center shared a report from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli
that Ansar al-Sharia had claimed responsibility for the Benghazi attack. The
terror group also called for an attack on the Embassy in Tripoli.
At
7:30 p.m. or thereabouts
Obama engaged in an hour-long phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. Obama hoped to mend fences with Netanyahu to help secure the Jewish
vote in the upcoming election.
After roughly 8:30 p.m., there is no known accounting of Obama’s time or
whereabouts.
At
11:15 p.m. Tyrone Woods and
Glen Doherty, another former SEAL, were killed in a mortar assault at the
annex. Doherty had just arrived as part of a six-man team from Tripoli.
At
1:40 a.m., having evacuated
the annex, the first group of Americans flew out of Benghazi bound for Tripoli.
They saw Stevens’ body at the airport and confirmed his death.
Said Pfeiffer to
Wallace when asked about Obama’s evening, “He was in constant touch with his
national security team and kept up to date with the events as they were
happening.” Wallace then listed all
the critical people with whom Obama had little or no conversation – the
secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs.
Pfeiffer clarified,
“He was talking to his national security staff, his National Security Council –
people who would keep him up to date as these things were happening.” “Was he in the situation room?”
Wallace asked. “I don’t remember what
room he was in that night,” said Pfeiffer. “That’s a largely irrelevant fact.” No, it
is not irrelevant at all. On Sept. 11, 2012, war was the last
thing Obama wanted or needed as well. He had already bagged Osama bin Laden,
pacified al-Qaida and liberated Libya. Or so he repeated endlessly. Foreign
policy was alleged to be his electoral strong suit. Given the political
dynamics, Obama likely retreated to the family quarters. As Pfeiffer said, Obama probably did talk to “people
who would keep him up to date as these things were happening.” Obama and
certain of these people, the political insiders, would have spent the night
translating national security data into electoral strategy.
~~~~~~
Poll:
Congress Not Overreaching on Obama Scandals
By Greg
Richter
A new poll found
that Americans by a large margin believe that Congress is not overreacting to
the burgeoning scandals plaguing the Obama administration. A CNN/ORC poll found that 54 percent of
Americans don't believe that Congress is overreacting to the IRS scrutiny of
conservative groups, while 42 percent said that it is. By an even
larger margin, 59 percent to 37 percent, respondents said Congress is making
the right moves on the administration's actions regarding the Benghazi terror
attack. The poll came as White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer made the round
of Sunday talk shows, defending President Barack Obama against charges that he
was unaware of the IRS scandal until hearing press reports.
~~~~~~
When
Christians become a 'hated minority'
When Peter Sprigg
speaks publicly about his opposition to homosexuality, something odd often
happens. During his speeches, people raise their hands to challenge his
assertions that the Bible condemns homosexuality, but no Christians speak out
to defend him. “But after it is over,
they will come over to talk to me and whisper in my ear, ‘I agree with
everything you said,’" says Sprigg, a spokesman for The Family Research
Council, a powerful, conservative Christian lobbying group. We’ve heard
of the “down-low” gay person who keeps his or her sexual identity secret for
fear of public scorn. But Sprigg and
other evangelicals say changing attitudes toward homosexuality have created a
new victim: closeted Christians who believe the Bible condemns homosexuality
but will not say so publicly for fear of being labeled a hateful bigot. As
proof, Sprigg points to the backlash that ESPN commentator Chris Broussard
sparked recently. Broussard was called a bigot and a purveyor of hate speech
when he said an NBA player who had come out as gay was living in “open
rebellion to God.” Broussard said the player, Jason Collins, was “living in
unrepentant sin” because the Bible condemns homosexuality.
~~~~~~
Day
After Obama Meets Treasury, Tea Party Targeting Begins
This is rather
telling. :
“For me, it’s about collaboration." — National Treasury Employees
Union President Colleen Kelley on the relationship between the anti-Tea Party
IRS union and the Obama White House Is President Obama directly implicated in
the IRS scandal? Is the White House Visitors Log the trail to the smoking gun? The
stunning questions are raised by the following set of new facts.
March 31, 2010. According to the White
House Visitors Log, provided here in searchable form by U.S. News and World
Report, the president of the anti-Tea Party National Treasury Employees
Union, Colleen Kelley, visited the White House at 12:30pm that Wednesday noon
time of March 31st.
The White House lists the IRS union leader’s visit this way: Kelley,
Colleen Potus 03/31/2010 12:30 In White House language, “POTUS” stands for
“President of the United States.”
The very next day after her White House
meeting with the President, according to the Treasury Department’s Inspector
General’s Report, IRS employees — the same employees who belong to the NTEU —
set to work in earnest targeting the Tea Party and conservative groups around
America. The IG report wrote it up this way:
April 1-2, 2010: The new Acting Manager, Technical Unit,
suggested the need for a Sensitive Case Report on the Tea Party cases. The
Determinations Unit Program Manager Agreed.
In short: the very day after the president of
the quite publicly anti-Tea Party labor union — the union for IRS employees —
met with President Obama, the manager of the IRS “Determinations Unit Program
agreed” to open a “Sensitive Case report on the Tea party cases.” As stated by
the IG report.
Waiting on a paper trail?
Their won't be one. Crooks
learned that many years ago. All by
verbal agreement. got it?
~~~~~~
Chief
IRS Counsel Got Jeremiah Wright’s Church out of IRS Probe Before Joining Agency
So they target
conservatives and protect liberals. Wow. News reports from the time
indicate the now-chief counsel of the IRS, William Wilkins, helped a church
connected to President Barack Obama’s friend Rev. Jeremiah Wright get out of an
IRS probe in 2008 while working as a private attorney. “Lawyers
from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have won the dismissal of an IRS
case against United Church of Christ, Sen. Barack Obama’s denomination,” The
American Lawyer’s Zach Lowe wrote on May 22, 2008.
The IRS initiated an investigation early this year after a speech by
Obama at a 50th anniversary celebration of the church last June. It was a
reference by Obama to his presidential candidacy in a talk otherwise focused on
faith that caught the agency’s attention. Tax laws prohibit
non-profits–including churches–from engaging in political speech or promoting
candidates. The IRS can withdraw an organization’s tax-free status if the
organization is found to violate the rule. Lowe noted that Obama had
been a “member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago–a UCC
congregation–for more than 20 years. The church has been in the headlines as
the congregation lead by the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright.”
~~~~~~
DOJ
Leaked Docs to Smear Fast & Furious Whistleblower
The
Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General published a new report Monday
that confirms former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke leaked a document
intended to smear Operation Fast and Furious scandal whistleblower John Dodson.
The DOJ IG said it
found “Burke’s conduct in disclosing the Dodson memorandum to be inappropriate
for a Department employee and wholly unbefitting a U.S. Attorney.” “We
are referring to OPR our finding that Burke violated Department policy in
disclosing the Dodson memorandum to a member of the media for a determination
of whether Burke’s conduct violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for the
state bars in which Burke is a member,” the IG wrote.
~~~~~
Half
of America wants Obama impeached
The faux stone
columns from his Denver acceptance speech are crumbling, the fireworks have
fizzled and the unadulterated adulation of Barack Obama is a sour feeling of
disillusion, as a new poll reveals
half of Americans wants him impeached, including a stunning one in four
Democrats. “It may be early in
the process for members of Congress to start planning for impeachment of Barack
Obama, but the American public is building a serious appetite for it,” said
Fritz Wenzel, of Wenzel Strategies, which did the telephone poll Thursday. It
has a margin of error of 4.36 percent. “Half
or nearly half of those surveyed said they believed Obama should be impeached
for the trifecta of scandals now consuming Washington.” Actually, on
the issue of the Benghazi scandal, where four Americans were killed when in
what may have been a politically motivated series of moves, a surging danger to
Americans at the foreign service facility there was ignored until
al-Qaida-linked terrorists attacked, 50.1
percent of Americans said Obama should be impeached. That included 27.6 percent
of the responding Democrats.
~~~~~~
Braying Jackass Award
Don’t
tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value -Joe Biden
~~~~~~
Voters
Think Benghazi or IRS Most Likely to Still Be Major News A Year From Now
Over half of voters
think there’s a chance at least one of the major controversies now bedeviling
the Obama administration will still be around a year from now. They see the
Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative political groups and the
questions surrounding Benghazi as the most likely to linger. The latest Rasmussen Reports national
telephone survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters believe it is at least
somewhat likely that at least one of the major controversies now in the news
will still be a major news story in a year. Forty percent (40%)
consider that unlikely. This includes 22% who say at least one of the
controversies is Very Likely to still be in the news versus just eight percent
(8%) who think it’s Not At All Likely.
~~~~~~
Kerry:
Blasphemy, Apostasy, Anti-Semitism Troubling Trends in Int'l Religious Freedom
Report
U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry on Monday introduced the release of the 2012 International
Religious Freedom report, which is compiled by State Department employees
annually to reveal the status of the advancement of religious freedom abroad.
"This report shines light on the challenges people
face as they seek nothing more than basic religious freedom and the right to
worship as they wish," Kerry said. "And its release is a
demonstration of the abiding commitment of the American people and the entire
U.S. government to the advancement of freedom of religion worldwide."
The report
chronicles global violence in democracies and dictatorships, and cites
incidents of Holocaust denial and expressions of anti-Semitism by government
officials, religious leaders and the media, which has led to desecration and
violence, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt and Iran. Kerry said increasing
anti-Semitism was a troubling trend, and announced that Ira Forman, former CEO
of the National Democratic Council, will hold the position of special envoy to
monitor and combat anti-Semitism.
~~~~~~
20th
Century Lies Of Islam Make Us Complacent In The Face Of Jihad
Sugar-coating harsh
realities and pretending that unpleasant facts don’t exist opens doors and gets
you accolades – but is it worth it at the price of the truth? According to an
article about a speech he gave last week in Toronto, scholar Daniel Pipes
“suggested it is Islamism, a political ideology, that inspires hatred of ‘the
other,’ rather than Islam. … He emphasized that while Islam has existed since
the age of the prophet Muhammad, Islamism is a recent phenomenon and need not
be considered an authentic expression of Islam.” Need not be considered
an authentic expression of Islam by whom? By Muslims? Yet so many do, all
around the world. By non-Muslims? What would that accomplish, since so many
Muslims think it is an authentic expression of Islam, except
to render us complacent in the face of the jihad threat? And anyway, is “Islamism” really not an
authentic expression of Islam? In
fact, political Islam and violent Islam go back to Muhammad, who massacred the
Qurayzah tribe and the Jews of Khybar and left oceans of blood in his wake. In
Medina, he started waging war against non-Muslims, and he explained to his
followers that they should offer those non-Muslims three choices. As
Robert Spencer explains, “the choices
for unbelievers are … to convert to Islam; or submit as inferiors to Islamic
rule, paying the tax and accepting the discrimination that Islamic law mandates
for non-Muslims in the Islamic state; or die.”
~~~~~~
"In
selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the
particular sect or denomination of the candidate -- look to his
character." --Noah Webster, Letters to a Young
Gentleman Commencing His Education, 1789
"[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to
laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who
make such laws and enforce them."
--Candidus, in the Boston Gazette, 1772
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