Feb. 6, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement calling attention to documents uncovered by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp proving that the proposed IRS regulations against 501(c)(4)s were planned while the targeting of the tea party was ongoing, and not in response to that scandal in 2013 as the Obama administration has contended:
“President Obama can no longer hide behind his seemingly perpetual state of confusion over what is happening in his administration, as records now clearly show. The 2012 email released by Chairman Camp proves that the new IRS regulation restricting 501(c)(4) organizations’ political speech was not in response to the scandal targeting the tea party or any confusion about what (c)(4) regulations mean, but was devised well in advance.
“The IRS had a long-term plan to use its power to intimidate and stop small conservative groups from participating in the political process using the same tax-exempt status as groups like Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters that publish voter guides.
“Congress can no longer stand idly assuming good will from this administration and it must use its power of the purse including any extension of the debt ceiling to expressly prohibit the implementation of these new IRS rules designed to squelch First Amendment rights of Obama’s political opponents.”
Attachments:
“Camp Blasts Treasury & Lois Lerner for Developing 501(c)(4) Rules ‘Off-Plan’” Feb. 5, 2014 at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=369014
“Obama’s state of confusion on IRS underscores cover-up,” By ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Feb. 5, 2014 at http://netrightdaily.com/2014/02/obamas-state-confusion-irs-underscores-cover/
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703)383-0880 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.
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