Documents Reveal Senate Democrat Pressured IRS, DOJ to Target Conservative Groups

 Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., called for revoking a tax exemption for a conservative group for not masking up and socially distancing during the pandemic, insisted on a slew of investigations of other conservative groups, and pressed for the Internal Revenue Service to expand its reach.

'Lois Lerner on Steroids'

• Whitehouse long has been a critic of conservative, nonprofit organizations and uses an expansive definition of "dark money" groups, broadly defined as tax-exempt organizations that don't disclose donors.
• The Supreme Court, in 1958 and 2021 cases, has struck down compelled donor disclosure requirements at the state level.

In a letter dated Jan. 19, 2021, Whitehouse asked IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to revoke the tax-exempt status of Turning Point USA because the conservative organization held an event at then-President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club without masking and social distancing.

• Whitehouse's concern over "dark money" groups generally is one-sided
• He referred to the billion-dollar Arabella Advisors network of liberal nonprofit groups.

'Fall Between the Infielders'

• The final letter the IRS made available was an inquiry from Whitehouse to Rettig, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Attorney General Merrick Garland about why his concerns had not been investigated.
• "I have described to you flagrant and persistent instances in which 501(c)(4) organizations engage in political activity-and report that political spending to the Federal Election Commission or its state equivalents-while telling the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that they did not engage in any political activity," Whitehouse wrote in the letter dated May 5, 2022.

Rettig's Resistance

• In April 2021, Whitehouse joined a letter led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., urging the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to reverse the Trump administration's decision to eliminate disclosure requirements for certain tax-exempt organizations that engage in political activity.
• The letter says that the decision weakens federal tax laws, campaign finance laws, and longstanding efforts to prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections.

Expanding the IRS

• In August 2021, Whitehouse joined Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to urge Rettig to take immediate action.
• The letter stated that the IRS "needs to go after wealthy tax cheats."
• Without the necessary resources, audit rates for the very richest taxpayers, those with incomes over $10 million, are nearly 80% lower than they were a decade ago.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/11/30/exclusive-documents-reveal-senate-democrat-pressured-irs-doj-to-target-conservative-groups/