Free Republic

When I say “debts,” I don’t mean loans that the parents willingly sought from SSA. It would be bad enough to hold a kid responsible for that (since when are children responsible for their parents’ obligations?), but at least it would have been voluntarily incurred by mom/dad. The “debts” here are overpayments of Social Security benefits, the product of SSA’s own errors. The parents who received them might not have even realized they were getting money they weren’t supposed to have. And now, somehow, it’s junior’s problem.But wait. It gets worse. When [Mary] Grice was 4, back in 1960, her...

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s decades-long battle against the federal government over grazing rights has heated to the point where militia groups have joined in and taken up spots against the feds who’ve circled his land — and talk is, they’re not afraid to open fire. A spokesman for the one of the militia groups said as much to local 8 News Now: I’m not “afraid to shoot,” he said. Margaret Houston, Mr. Bundy’s sister and a cancer survivor, said at a town hall gathering this week that the situation “was like a war zone” and that she felt “like I...

On MSNBC last night, host Alex Wagner continued her ongoing “leave the IRS alone” theme with a defense of the organization and its key players that tread into the territory of virtuosity in the art of reversing the spin. Not only, Wagner would have you believe, is the IRS not guilty of anything, not only were conservative groups not harmed or hampered in any way, but in fact it is the IRS who is truly the victim of unjust targeting. They are not the aggressor but the innocent victim, the simple, plainspoken agency that gosh darnit just wants to do...

In a Thursday appearance on Sean Hannity's radio program, Cruz said Holder should be impeached for "defying Congress and the rule of law." He said Holder's actions were not in the spirit of the Department of Justice, which Cruz said has "a bipartisan tradition of resisting partisan pressure and upholding the rule of law." Cruz cited examples of Holder's predecessors (Janet Reno and Elliot Richardson, respectively) from Bill Clinton's and Richard Nixon's administrations. Cruz said he was "very pleased" that Lerner was held in contempt by the House Committee but noted that the Justice Department has not indicted one person...

MSNBC does it again! MSNBC host Alex Wagner attempted to argue that the IRS was actually the victim of the recent investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative groups that were seeking 501(c)(4) status. “In my mind the IRS who is trying to get this out are the ones who have actually been targeted in this investigation.” Wagner stated during her program on Thursday night.

Just before I hit play at Mediaite, this floated through my Twitter timeline: The boldest thing Comedy Central could do to replace Colbert: a show parodying MSNBC left just as Colbert parodied Fox News right.— Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) April 10, 2014 Good luck parodying this one. Evidently there’s no sin so grave that it can’t be forgiven at MSNBC in the name of making life more difficult for conservative 501(c)(4) groups. Doesn’t matter that Lois Lerner’s been caught daydreaming about working for Obama’s political org while pursuing audits of outfits like American Crossroads. Doesn’t matter that she shared info with...

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted on Thursday to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress. The committee’s approval paves the way for a vote in the full House of Representatives. Lerner is accused of leading an effort to target the tax status of conservative organizations, while giving liberal organizations a pass. Lerner previously pled the Fifth Amendment when questioned by the committee on May 22, 2013. The Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination. But since Lerner had previously professed her innocence in a statement, a little over one month later the committee voted that...

Full Title - "LIKE A BOSS: Trey Gowdy schools Democrats on why Lois Lerner waived her 5th amendment rights" Nobody does it like Trey Gowdy who, after listening to Democrats make excuses for Lois Lerner, schooled them all on why Lois Lerner waived her 5th amendment rights. “Can you imagine, Mr. Chairman? Can you imagine a fact pattern where somebody takes the stand and says, ‘I didn’t rob the bank. But I’m not gonna answer why my fingerprints are on the demand note. And I’m not gonna tell you why I’m on the surveillance footage with a gun in my...

IRS employees encouraged taxpayers to vote for President Obama during his 2012 reelection campaign and disparaged Republicans, a federal ethics watchdog said Wednesday. One IRS customer representative urged people calling into the agency to vote for Obama by “repeatedly reciting a chant based on the spelling of his last name,” the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) said in its announcement. The office is responsible for investigating cases in which people violate the Hatch Act, which bans federal employees from engaging in partisan campaign activities. In that case, officials are “seeking significant disciplinary action.” A Kentucky-based tax advisory specialist was also...

A House committee voted Thursday to hold Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress, as Republicans escalated their bid to "get to the bottom" of the former IRS official's role in the political targeting scandal. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 21-12 to hold Lerner in contempt. The party-line vote followed hours of heated debate on the committee. The contempt measure heads next to the House floor. House Speaker John Boehner predicted earlier this week that unless Lerner agrees to cooperate, the full House will support contempt -- from there, the case would likely head to the courts. "This...

A customer service representative at the IRS who repeatedly greeted taxpayers calling a help-line with a chant urging President Barack Obama's re-election in 2012 could now be facing significant disciplinary action, according to the Office of Special Counsel.

Washington superlawyer Cleta Mitchell represents True the Vote, one of the groups illegally targeted by the IRS in the scandals that have exposed the agency as a partisan operation. True the Vote’s Catherine Engelbrecht has been harassed by federal law enforcement authorities representing three different federal agencies. They represent the price of politics in the Age of Obama. As John notes below, yesterday the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee released emails that show Democratic staffers communicating with the IRS about True the Vote. It appears that Elijah Cummings, the committee’s ranking Democrat and therefore the Congressman to whom these...

Rep. Roskam (R-IL) answered the following question to TellDC: What is going on to happen with potential contempt charges today against Lois Lerner in your House Ways and Means committee? (02:42)

Back in June of 2013 Elijah Cummings declared the IRS investigation over, despite the continued stonewalling by the Obama administration: Based upon everything I’ve seen, the case is solved. If it were me, I would wrap this case up and move on, to be frank with you. The IG made some recommendations, those recommendations are being adopted by the IRS, we’ve got a new commissioner in, acting commissioner in, Danny Werfel is doing a great job, I think we’re in great shape. Last month all of the democrat members of the House Oversight Committee demanded Darryl Issa end the IRS...

It’s all one big revolving door between the Democratic Party and the Federal government. And it’s the same job. Help the left win. Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner talked about taking a job with President Barack Obama’s nonprofit advocacy group Organizing for Action (OFA) while she had official oversight at the IRS over nonprofit tax-exempt groups.The revelation was made Wednesday in the House Ways and Means Committee’s referral letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute Lerner on criminal charges. Ways and Means voted to refer Lerner to DOJ.The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is expected to vote Thursday...

In a major new development in the IRS scandal, House Republicans voted on Wednesday to send a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for former IRS chief Lois Lerner. FNC's Special Report with Bret Baier devoted a full story to the vote by the committee chaired by Congressman Dave Camp, but none of the three broadcast network evening newscasts covered the vote -- yet two found time to tout Hillary Clinton's presidential prospects.

WASHINGTON — A House committee is voting on whether to hold a former Internal Revenue Service official in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions at a pair of hearings.

The Internal Revenue Service continues to have weaknesses in information security control that the Government Accountability Office fears could affect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of financial and sensitive taxpayer data. An April 8 GAO report found that although the IRS has improved on information security control and internal control over financial reporting, significant risks remain. The agency has failed to consistently install the appropriate patches on all databases and servers to protect against known vulnerabilities, GAO found, and also failed to sufficiently monitor database controls and appropriately restrict access to its mainframe environment. The IRS has also allowed individuals...

Attorney General Eric Holder must take seriously congressional allegations against former IRS official Lois Lerner if he is to be trusted as the nation's top law enforcement official, Rep. Trey Gowdy says. "What happened today was really big . . . You remember when the president said there's not a smidgen of criminality?" Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV. "So, now you have the Ways and Means, which is one of the more widely respected committees in Congress, sending three separate, potential criminal acts to the Department of Justice and a referral. "This...

House Ways and Means Committee Republicans aren't ruling out the use of the chamber's "inherent contempt" authority if Attorney General Eric Holder refuses to act on the panel's accusations against former IRS official Lois Lerner.