The power to tax is the power to destroy

by Brad Hoppmann,

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted on Dec. 15, 1791, as one of 10 amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. And it’s one of our most cherished and sacred freedoms.

The amendment reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

However, the IRS has been disregarding the First Amendment for decades. And the instructions to do so came directly from presidents and the FBI.

A history of trampling on citizens’ Constitutional Rights

Time magazine revealed in May 2013 that:

• JFK used the IRS to investigate right-wing groups under its “Ideological Organizations Project.”

• The FBI had a plan in 1964 to discredit the United Klans of America by illegally disclosing tax information about key members.

• The FBI also instigated an IRS audit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his non-profit organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

• In 1968, J. Edgar Hoover used the IRS as a weapon to expose, disrupt and otherwise neutralize groups and individuals on the left. One target, a university professor suspected of planning protests to disrupt the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was hit with an audit.

• The FBI hoped that the demands of an audit would be a distraction during the critical period while he was engaged in meetings and planning for disruption of the Democratic National Convention.

• In 1969, Nixon used the IRS to examine left-wing tax-exempt organizations to make sure they were complying with the law. A secret IRS program called the “Special Services Staff” investigated Nixon’s political opponents and harassed them with audits.

• In 1974, when the House of Representatives drew up articles of impeachment against Nixon, it alleged, among other offenses, that the President had used the IRS improperly.

The illegal activities by the IRS continued …

• NAACP officials said their group was subjected to an audit during the 2004 election cycle in an effort to discourage political activity.

• Conservative non-profits claim they were targeted with IRS audits ordered by the Clinton Administration.

• A 2001 study of IRS audits published in the Economics and Politics journal uncovered a disturbing pattern in audits between 1992 and 1997. The authors wrote,

“Other things being the same, the percentage of tax returns audited by the IRS is markedly lower in states that are important to the sitting president’s re-election aspirations. We also find that the IRS is responsive to its oversight committees.“

• President Barack Obama’s administration was caught targeting conservative political groups before and during the 2012 election cycle.

Lois Lerner was Obama’s official in charge of the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups. She confessed that organizations with conservative-sounding names such as “Tea Party,” “Patriots,” “9/12,” “We the People” and “Take Back the Country” were selected for additional reviews of their tax-exempt status as social welfare groups.

Rather than take any responsibility, she shifted the blame to a group of low-level workers in the IRS’ Cincinnati office. Lerner also hid behind the Fifth Amendment when asked about the scandal at Congressional hearings.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle were outraged:

White House spokesman Jay Carney conceded that,

“There does appear to have been inappropriate action that we would want to see investigated.”

Obama called the targeting of conservative groups and abuse by the IRS “outrageous.”

But guess what?

Nothing much happened …

Lerner resigned. So did Steven Miller, acting commissioner of the IRS.

No charges filed. No one went to jail.

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