DOJ Settles Lawsuits with Groups “Improperly Targeted by IRS” under Obama

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced late last week that the Department of Justice has entered into settlement agreements in two cases brought by non-profit groups alleging their tax-exempt status applications were significantly delayed by the Internal Revenue Service based on “inappropriate criteria”. A statement issued by the Attorney General on October 26, 2017 specifically laid the blame on the Obama Administration, stating “it is now clear that during the last Administration, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to screen applications for 501(c) status”.

it is now clear that during the last Administration, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to screen applications for 501(c) status

The two cases, Linchpins of Liberty v. United States and NorCal Tea Party Patriots v. Internal Revenue Service, were brought in the U.S District Courts for the District of Columbia and the Southern District of Ohio, respectively. According to the Attorney General’s statement, during the Obama Administration the IRS used criteria such as “Tea Party”, “Patriots”, or “9/12”, as well as “policy positions concerning government spending or taxes, education of the public to ‘make America a better place to live,’ or statements criticizing how the country was being run” to screen applications seeking 501(c) status. The IRS then transferred hundreds of applications to a specifically designated group of IRS agents for “additional levels of review, questions and delay.” Furthermore, there were several instances where highly sensitive information was requested from applicants, such as donor information, that was unnecessary to make a determination of tax-exempt status.

The IRS’s use of these criteria as a basis for heightened scrutiny was wrong and should never have occurred. It is improper for the IRS to single out groups for different treatment based on their names or ideological positions.

The Attorney General invoked First Amendment protections against government prohibitions on the exercise of free speech and stated that “[t]he IRS’s use of these criteria as a basis for heightened scrutiny was wrong and should never have occurred.” And that “[i]t is improper for the IRS to single out groups for different treatment based on their names or ideological positions.”

No details were provided regarding the terms of the settlements. They are still pending approval in their respective District Courts.

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You can read the entire text of the DOJ press release here: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces Department of Justice has Settled with Plaintiff Groups Improperly Targeted by IRS.

Image credit, Official White House Photo by Pete Souza via Flickr U.S. Government Works