Posted on 10/05/2010 6:24:10 PM PDT by jazusamo
A federal inspector general is looking into whether the Obama administration used confidential taxpayer information in an effort to attack a political opponent, Koch Industries.
The review was revealed Tuesday by Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, two weeks after he and a handful of other top Senate Republicans called for the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax issues to look into the matter, saying either administration officials had illegal access to taxpayer information or were inappropriately speculating in public about the company's tax status.
Charles and David Koch, brothers who control the Kansas-based company, are libertarians who have used some of their wealth to fund conservative groups and causes that oppose much of President Obama's agenda. Mr. Obama has singled out the company for criticism in speeches.
In an Aug. 27 briefing with some reporters on calls to restructure the corporate tax code, an unidentified administration official cited Koch Industries, a major privately held energy company, by name, and then seemed to indicate that the company didn't pay any corporate income tax, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"In this country, we have partnerships, we have [S corporations], we have [limited-liability companies], we have a series of entities that do not pay corporate income tax," said the senior administration official, according to press reports. "Some of which are really giant firms - you know, Koch Industries is a multibillion-dollar business."
The Weekly Standard, which first questioned whether the comments crossed a legal line, has reported that the unidentified administration official "appears to have been" Austan Goolsbee, named last month as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
SOP for this bunch. I would be surprised if they were ethical.
Yep, Obama and thugs are vindictive and I’m sure everyone in government knows it by now, especially the IG’s.
If Zero looks to seize the Koch properties, since these are his ideological enemies, I could see Charles Koch making Pine Bend Refinery into Wyatt’s Torch as justified (may it never come down to that. BTW, it would be Koch’s decision alone since HE OWNS IT). Yes, it is a major employer in Dakota County, MN, and it is also one of my major clients, so I have much to lose. As for Zero ordering an Hugo Chavez inspired asset forfeiture of the refineries, well I would speculate that he has indeed considered it.
It is beyond belief that the people of this country could elect a person as unethical and sleazy as he to the presidency. Should our great nation survive his criminal ways the history books in a hundred years will not be kind to him.
The Koch brothers are big time consevative financial supporters. Perhaps Soros is not contributing enough to Obama’s cause? Chicago politics on a National scale.
I can’t wait for January when Darrell Issa turns loose a pack of young guns investigating the Baraqqis.
I hear you, there’ll be Rats running for cover. I believe we’ll see a number of resignations from people who want to spend more time with families.
Right on! But they left out the AFL-CIO.
The Koch Bothers have been used as examples by the catastrophic/enviro AGW crowd of how “big oil” funds the “anti-AGW/denialist vermin for several months now.
Shows you how their socialist/communist crowds are always reading the same playbook and script from their “leaders”
The list, ping
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FDR did the same type of thing to his political opponents. More fodder for the next year’s multitude of House investigations hopefully chaired by Issa.
Aerial: 
Drive up: 
New historic adjacent guest house: 
)Ozero is a scumbag, race baiting, national socialist wannabe. third Reich admirer.
Thanks for the pics, nice pad. :-)
I hope Zer0 has seen them, I’d bet they drive him up the wall because David Koch has earned it.
Zer0 is gonna fail. Can’t keep a secret.
One of Rahm’s schemes me thinks.
Not smart revealing a foe’s privelged IRS info.
Thanx, Robert A. Cook, PE !
Interesting ... according to Paul Driessen (author of Eco-Imperialism) interviewed on the G. Gordon Liddy show 12/1/09, hour 2: The US Big Government has funded $90 billion in GW research promotion over the past 20 years promoting the climate crisis science hoax.
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