The IRS also targeted at least three liberal groups

I have noticed how the media started blowing this up before there is much info. When they said the president had apologized, I thought he was making the same mistake as when he fired someone over what turned out to be remarks out of context. Then I heard him speak, and he correctly said IF it turned out to be as reported, it would be bad. And I have not seen the media give a list of all the keywords. I have to say, even if the reports are all true, I don't see it as really shocking, because the corrupt super-rich were/are funding the Republicans and tea party in corrupt ways.

And this morning, NPR mentioned one time that the IRS had also targeted groups such as Greenpeace during the Bush administration, but it didn't get a lot of press, no calls for Congressional investigation. Then the rest of the day they reverted back to just talking about targeting Patriot and Tea Party key words.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/15/report-the-irs-also-targeted-at-least-three-liberal-groups/

By Brad Plumer, Published: May 15, 2013

We already know that the IRS developed “inappropriate criteria” in flagging for review more than 90 Tea Party groups that were applying for tax-exempt status as 501(c)(4)s. But did any liberal groups receive heavy scrutiny, or did they get a free pass?

Some new reporting from Bloomberg suggests that at least three Democratic-leaning groups faced similar inquiries from the IRS:

The Internal Revenue Service, under pressure after admitting it targeted anti-tax Tea Party groups for scrutiny in recent years, also had its eye on at least three Democratic-leaning organizations seeking nonprofit status.

One of those groups, Emerge America, saw its tax-exempt status denied, forcing it to disclose its donors and pay some taxes. None of the Republican groups have said their applications were rejected.

Progress Texas, another of the organizations, faced the same lines of questioning as the Tea Party groups from the same IRS office that issued letters to the Republican-friendly applicants. A third group, Clean Elections Texas, which supports public funding of campaigns, also received IRS inquiries.

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Meanwhile, there’s still the disparity that Nicholas Confessore reported here. At the same time the IRS was investigating smaller groups applying for 501(c)(4) status, it gave a pass to larger organizations like Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS or Bill Burton’s Priorities USA that were allowed to receive anonymous donations — groups that were overtly political and heavily involved in the 2012 campaign.

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[this article says the IRS should investigate all 501(c)(4)s, but doesn't mention that Republicans have denied adequate funding to the IRS.]


http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/05/15/read_the_irs_s_irritating_requests_for_a_liberal_group_in_texas.html

By David Weigel | Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Now that the floodgates are good and burst, I'm getting a bunch of emailed IRS letters from groups whose leaders feel they were unusually hassled. Progress Texas sent this over, pointing to questions 1, 2, 12, 16, 19, and 21, and adding that their request took 479 days for approval.

"Progress Texas and the Tea Party strongly disagree on the role of government," said PT executive director Ed Espinoza. "Yet, when we applied for tax-exempt status, Progress Texas received the same type of additional scrutiny that Tea Party groups are complaining about. The similar treatment indicates the IRS was likely addressing a flood of 501c4 applications after Citizens United, and undermines the paranoid notion that Tea Party groups were singled out."