by Jack
Remember Elijah Cummings? He was the democrat Congressman that was excoriating Rep. Darryl Issa-R CA for investigating IRS boss Lois Lerner. Issa finally had to turn off his mike to shut him up, and this produced a big brouhaha between democrats and republicans. Now fast forward a few weeks and it turns out that Cummings had a serious conflict of interest as he tried to get Lerner off the hook. Seems he was engaged in his own little plot to encourage the DOJ to investigate the conservative group True the Vote. And not only that he was also in contact with Lerner who was feeding him information on the group.
There’s explosive new evidence that he was leading the charge against conservatives the entire time, that he was part of a panel that was supposed to be investigating the IRS for allegedly treating conservative groups unfairly. Reported Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Fox News.
Cummings role on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is ranking minority member. And the latest charge from the right is that his staff members requested information from the IRS on a conservative Texas group, essentially putting them on the radar for the IRS to pursue.
“The House Oversight Committee chairman [California Republican Darrell Issa],” Hasselbeck told viewers, “actually produced emails from 2012 that show Lois Lerner accommodating the request from Elijah Cummings… providing information about an organization called True The Vote, a conservative organization that was singled out and scrutinized [by the IRS].”
“So let me get this straight,” co-host Steve Doocy said, as the screen filled with video of Cummings and Lerner. “What you just said, that guy right there, the top Democrat on the House oversight [committee], was coordinating with that woman, Lois Lerner, targeting a Texas conservative group called True The Vote. They were coordinating to crack down on them. That is so wrong, isn’t it?”
“What you just said, that guy right there, the top Democrat on the House oversight [committee], was coordinating with that woman, Lois Lerner, targeting a Texas conservative group called True The Vote. They were coordinating to crack down on them. That is so wrong, isn’t it?”
Not if your a liberal with a mission!
Absolutely none of this is news. There were news stories about Cummings sending letters to True the Vote all the way back in October 2012.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82584.html
Cummings literally CC’ed Darrel Issa on the letters he sent to True the Vote. Furthermore, the organization was on the IRS’ radar months before Cummings started talking with them, according to Issa’s own timeline.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/issa-cummings-irs-scandal
This is yet more grasping at straws. Issa is determined to keep the base occupied with phony scandals like this one and Benghazi, constantly resurrecting old facts and debunked claims and dressing them up as brand new smoking guns. I’d say it’s a shame that otherwise intelligent people are falling for this political gamesmanship, but lately I’m afraid I’m being too generous in that estimation.
Issa and Cummings are on the same team working together so the truth about the IRS targeting Tea Party and religious groups isn’t divulged until after the 2014 election.
Both want their incumbent members reelected. Therefore, Tea Party candidates MUST not be allowed to participate on an equal playing field limiting challenger’s chances of winning.
Cummings wants the Dems to hold control of the Senate and Issa wants his GOP progressives in control of the House and McConnell in the Senate.
Don’t trust Issa any more than I do Cummings. Just look at the mess he’s made of the Benghazi investigation. Why haven’t subpoenas been issued long ago for both scandals?
This is a fine example of the cover our media provides Democrats and this administration!
This IS news, in fact it is part of the biggest scandal in American history!
Lerner colluded/conspired with at least two other federal agencies, Judicial and FEC, as well as Cummings in the targeting effort, specifically in this instance regarding the conservative organization “True the Vote”. In that case the target was harassed by FBI ans OSHA as well.
Cummings failed to disclose his involvement to the committee after revelations about the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS was disclosed and the House investigation began. That is a serious breech of ethics; his collusion is a very serious matter.
I have read that private information was disclosed which I believe is against the law but I have not been able to verify that.
TownHall
NewsMax
The Articles of Impeachment drawn up against Richard Nixon included the following:
PLEASE NOTE: His endeavors were not fruitful…the IRS would not cooperate. His paranoid enemies list were his political foes not private citizens.
This case involves people who are charged to serve the citizens and it appears they have been activists using the power of position to harm the “enemy”.
True the Vote would not have been engaged in any activity that was in any way dissimilar to activities performed by ACORN, Organizing for Action, Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Push, or any other leftist nonprofit. This was an effort to oppress first amendment rights.
True the Vote founder Cathryn Engelbrecht was harassed and denied normal consideration on her application for nonprofit status due to her politics alone. She was targeted in a coordinated effort by the IRS, OSHA, FBI and ATF.
True, this is huge and it’s more than just a mere scandal, this is big government being run by bureaucrats who have set themselves up being beyond the law, like a king or a judge and jury to persecute anyone thy don’t like! They have abused the power of their office in ways that would have made our founders furious. Why democrats have mostly chosen to poo-poo this federal outrage is beyond comprehension. We are all at risk when things like this can happen.
Peggy I learned something today that explains at least some of the roadblocks to justice in all of these scandals.
Judge Napalitano told Stewart Varney this morning that the regulations governing the establishment of an independent prosecutor was changed some time ago. Congress no longer has that power; the Attorney General apparently does!
The investigation into Benghazi and IRS targeting will move at a snails pace for several good reasons not the least of which is the people looking into it doesn’t want to make a misstep that will give the game away. Both of these scandals are serious and must be resolved as judiciously as possible…difficult when the WH and AG are not about to cooperate and may be complicit.
Good related article here.
The truth will eventually come out. Those in charge won’t be in control for ever and there are good honest people in the know who will step forward once the threat of loosing their jobs has ended.
Trey Gowdy to Greta Van Susteren.
“One of the reasons they don’t answer our subpoenas is they don’t fear any consequences,” Gowdy explained. “And that’s something I’ve never been able to explain to you, is why we don’t stand up for our institution more.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/26/trey-gowdy-threatens-to-hold-irs-commissioner-in-contempt-for-withholding-lerner-emails-video/#ixzz2zBxT1WIv
Trey Gowdy during committee hearing.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4488156/gowdy-subpeona-subpeona-jordan-talking-1st-amendment-youre-working-fast-enough-simple-youre
Trey Gowdy is an excellent human being; someone we can count on to get to the bottom of things.
I agree it is difficult to comprehend the apathy of the electorate. I fear we have become so dependent that we expect media or our government to tell us what to do before we can do it. Also so many of the younger people don’t have a full appreciation of their heritage. How do a people get to outrage over abuse of citizens rights when those we count on for leadership and information are not outraged. Conservatives rarely have the stomach for the style used by our opponents who have no problem accusing their “enemies” of all sorts of crimes falsely just to stir up interest. We shall see what November brings…conservatives aren’t as vocal about their outrage so maybe a good number of citizens are seething quietly.
More people are becoming Independents…what will matter to them most in November? I would hope at least some will be very aware and turned off by the shenanigans of these radical democrats that so many of them have trusted and empowered.
Never before in my lifetime have we had “fundamental transformers”…and never before have so many been obviously aligned in the extreme…they were there, but not so obvious and never exerting so much concentrated effort.
Did they believe we were all completely malleable?
Peggy: “Issa and Cummings are on the same team working together so the truth about the IRS targeting Tea Party and religious groups isn’t divulged until after the 2014 election.”
Well Peggy, we can always count on you to bring another wacky conspiracy theory to the table. Now Issa, who has done absolutely nothing but scream “Benghazi” and “IRS” for the last two years like he has Tourettes, is actually part of the non-existant cover-up of both of these phony scandals? Amazing.
Have you ever heard of Occam’s Razor, Peggy? The simplest explanation is usually the right one. In these cases, the simplest explanation is that Issa hasn’t found anything because there is nothing left to find. There is no conspiracy. The facts of each case have been out for quite a while, and they do not support the ridiculous charges of Republicans.
Tina: “The investigation into Benghazi and IRS targeting will move at a snails pace”
The investigation into Benghazi has been over for quite some time now, Tina. The truth is out. Everyone now knows that the talking points about the anti-Islam video originated from the CIA, which had strong intel indicating that this was a motivator for many of the protesters. The intel was and still is fuzzy on how long in advance this had been planned and if there were any specific warnings. There were lapses in security and the Senate has given recommendations on what we can do in the future to ensure things like this are less likely to happen. There remains zero evidence of a White House-led cover-up to get Obama re-elected; that theory never made any sense to begin with, and the Obama administration revised its conclusion about the video around the same time the CIA did, which was weeks before the election.
These facts have all been available for months. I know it. Darrel Issa knows it. Even you know it. But for some reason conservatives have collectively decided that they are willing to do and say anything, even if it makes them look like complete idiots who can’t read, in order to target and personally attack this president. (And that’s the generous interpretation. The other one is that you actually are a bunch of idiots who can’t read. I’m being charitable.)
Again, the investigation into Benghazi is over. All that remains is a partisan witch hunt that even some of your own constituents are getting damn tired of. Issa has long since passed the point where any further Benghazi hearings are nothing but a waste of time and taxpayer money. The facts are available. There is nothing left to find. Obama did not craft the talking points about the video in order to get re-elected, and that is a fact. Give. It. Up.
The evidence points to a cover up for Hillary Clinton, a woman who made a deal with barrack Obama of some kind to smooth things over in the party after a contentious campaign in 2007 and allow Hillary to fatten up her resume for 2016 (she may have hoped for 2012). It may also have contained elements about support from his campaign organizations when she next ran. Hillary and Bill still have friends in the CIA. In fact former CIA deputy Michael Morell admitted as much in the hearings, per Kathryn Herridge:
Obama’s roll is the same as Susan Rice’s. he colluded to cover for Hillary Clinton’s failures to adequately provide security, to respond to requests from the ambassador and possibly to inform the WH.
People died unnecessarily and the excuses and the cover up are quite obvious…unless you are a partisan apologist for the corrupt administration…then its all “fuzzy”!
Chris, I’m headed out of town so don’t have time to respond to your stupid comment that further proves just what a water boy you are for this administration.
Emails and other documents are still coming out on both the IRS and Benghazi. Just because you and democrats want it to be over it will NOT be over until ALL related documents, without redactions, are provided.
Those who seek the truth will not “Give it up,” until the whole truth is known. Sad you believe being right is more important than the truth.
Good bye. Have a blessed Easter.
Tina: “This IS news, in fact it is part of the biggest scandal in American history!”
Uh-huh. How nice that would be for you if it were true.
“Cummings failed to disclose his involvement to the committee after revelations about the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS was disclosed and the House investigation began.”
There seem to be two separate accusations being conflated here. The first is that Cummings “put True the Vote on the radar” for the IRS. This is just false. The IRS was investigating True the Vote before Cummings’ involvement.
The second accusation is that Cummings did not reveal any involvement with the IRS. Again, this seems hard to believe since Cummings’ contact with the IRS and to True the Vote were a matter of public record. Issa himself knew of this contact all the way back in October 2012 because he was CC’ed on the e-mails! Now he’s trotting them out as if they are new revelations in a desperate attempt to keep things spicy with his ignorant base.
Furthermore, has it ever occurred to any of you that True the Vote and other similar organizations may have actually been doing something worthy of investigation? True the Vote has donated thousands of dollars to Republican organizations. How is that not partisan activity? How is that not exactly the kind of thing that 504 corporations should not be doing?
http://prospect.org/article/true-votes-true-agenda
New IRS emails released by the House Oversight Committee show staff working for Democratic Ranking Member Elijah Cummings communicated with the IRS multiple times between 2012 and 2013 about voter fraud prevention group True the Vote. True the Vote was targeted by the IRS after applying for tax exempt status more than two years ago. Further, information shows the IRS and Cummings’ staff asked for nearly identical information from True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht about her organization, indicating coordination and improper sharing of confidential taxpayer information.
Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, along with five Subcommittee Chairmen are demanding Cummings provide an explanation for the staff inquiries to the IRS about True the Vote and for his denial that his staff ever contacted the IRS about the group.
“Although you have previously denied that your staff made inquiries to the IRS about conservative organization True the Vote that may have led to additional agency scrutiny, communication records between your staff and IRS officials – which you did not disclose to Majority Members or staff – indicates otherwise,” the letter to Cummings states. “As the Committee is scheduled to consider a resolution holding Ms. Lerner, a participant in responding to your communications that you failed to disclose, in contempt of Congress, you have an obligation to fully explain your staff’s undisclosed contacts with the IRS.”
The first contact between the IRS and Cummings’ staffers about True the Vote happened in August 2012. In January 2013, staff asked for more information from the IRS about the group. Former head of tax exempt groups at the IRS Lois Lerner went out of her way to try and get information to Cummings’ office.The information Cummings received was not shared with Majority Members on the Committee.
On January 28, three days after staffers requested more information, Lerner wrote an email to her deputy Holly Paz, who has since been put on administrative leave, asking, “Did we find anything?” Paz responded immediately by saying information had not been found yet, to which Lerner replied, “Thanks, check tomorrow please.”
Last night, True the Vote Attorney Cleta Mitchell appeared on The Kelly File to discuss recent revelations that Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee Elijah Cummings was in contact with the IRS about the organization. True the Vote and its founder Catherine Engelbrecht were targeted after applying for tax exempt status and received nearly identical questions about the organization from Cummings and the IRS on separate occasions. You can read the back story on that here.
New IRS emails released by the House Oversight Committee show staff working for Democratic Ranking Member Elijah Cummings communicated with the IRS multiple times between 2012 and 2013 about voter fraud prevention group True the Vote. True the Vote was targeted by the IRS after applying for tax exempt status more than two years ago. Further, information shows the IRS and Cummings’ staff asked for nearly identical information from True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht about her organization, indicating coordination and improper sharing of confidential taxpayer information.
During her appearance, Mitchell reminded viewers that it isn’t just Elijah Cummings who put conservative groups on the radar screen for IRS targeting, but a handful of Democrats who didn’t like what these groups were doing in opposition to big government policies.
“Lois Lerner and the top brass at the IRS came to see its role as somehow the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party and Democratic members of Congress and the White House and they began to carry out these activities to pursue conservative groups because these politicians were demanding it,” Mitchell said. “All of these people, Lois Lerner, all of them, they have civil service protection and the only difference between what happened in Watergate when Richard Nixon asked the IRS to go after his political enemies was when Richard Nixon asked, they refused. When these Democratic politicians said, ‘Go do something about these conservative groups because they’re challenging us and we don’t like what they’re saying about us,’ the IRS took it upon itself to do their bidding to try and silence these groups.”
This story was published at 4:33 p.m. and has been updated with a response from Rep. Cummings.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has accused the panel’s top Democrat of prompting the Internal Revenue Service in 2012 to target a conservative organization applying for non-profit status.
Issa said records obtained last week from the IRS show communications from the office of ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., about True the Vote, a Texas-based, non-profit conservative group that aims to prevent voter fraud.
The communications at one point involved Lois Lerner, the ex-IRS official whom Issa’s panel is poised to hold in contempt of Congress on Thursday for refusing to provide testimony about her involvement in targeting conservative groups.
“The IRS and the Oversight Minority made numerous requests for virtually identical information from True the Vote, raising concerns that the IRS improperly shared protected taxpayer information with Rep. Cummings’ staff,” a statement from the Oversight panel reads.
According to Issa, Cummings and his staff sought “copies of all training materials used for volunteers, affiliates, or other entities,” from True the Vote.
Five days after the Cummings inquiry, the IRS sent True the Vote an email requesting “a copy of [True the Vote’s] volunteer registration form,” “… the process you use to assign volunteers,” “how you keep your volunteers in teams,” and “how your volunteers are deployed … following the training they receive by you.”
Issa said Cummings and his office asked for more information in January 2013 about True the Vote, this time getting Lerner involved.
At one point, an email revealed, Lerner asked her deputy, “Did we find anything?”
When the deputy said she had not received any new information, Lerner responded, “thanks – check tomorrow please.”
Issa said Cummings had previously denied asking the IRS about True the Vote.
At a February subcommittee hearing, when Issa asked whether his office may have put True the Vote “on the radar screen” of the IRS, Cummings said the accusation was “absolutely incorrect and untrue.”
Issa and other GOP panel members have sent a letter to Cummings, asking him to respond to the newly uncovered emails.
In his response, Cummings said the GOP has falsely accused him of wrongly contacting the IRS about True the Vote. Cummings said in the letter that he has publicly stated his interest in finding more about True the Vote, which supports voter ID laws that Cummings opposes.
Cummings said in his letter that his inquiries were appropriate and did not violate any rules. His requests, Cummings added, were for publicly available information.
One request, Cummings said, was to gather information about True the Vote’s $5,000 donation to the Republican State Leadership Committee, a move that suggested partisan and political motives.
Cummings said the letter from Issa and others Republicans is “a desperate attempt to shift the focus on tomorrow’s contempt vote away from the serious Constitutional deficiencies in these proceedings.”
Chris can run off to play in the weeds all day long for all I care because the point in all of this is that it appears that several of the representatives and servants of the people have committed illegal and unethical acts against targeted citizens. Serious charges have been made and and appropriate committees in Congress will continue to seek evidence.
Please recall when Democrats found similar actions only considered and not carried out, were enough to call for the impeachment of a president!
Yes Chris the rights of the people need protecting.
Tina: “The evidence points to a cover up for Hillary Clinton, a woman who made a deal with barrack Obama of some kind to smooth things over in the party after a contentious campaign in 2007 and allow Hillary to fatten up her resume for 2016 (she may have hoped for 2012).”
Yes, that’s absolutely correct, except for “the evidence,” substitute “Tina’s deluded fever dreams.”
There is no evidence that anything you’ve just said is true. If you had evidence for it, you would provide it. The best you can do is this:
“On the talking points, Morell said he dropped information about CIA security warnings — which were factual and accurate — because he thought it would be unprofessional to embarrass then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s State Department.”
Funny how the FOX News piece you got this from doesn’t actually quote Morell as saying anything like this. I’m just supposed to take their paraphrase of his words as the truth. That’s not evidence, Tina. Join a debate club.