Sometimes those who wield power over us seem less than honest about whether they’re following their own professed rules, including rules mandated by law.
The latest example comes to us courtesy of the watchdog group Cause of Action, which filed a Freedom of Information request for correspondence between the IRS and the White House about tax returns. The correspondence may reveal something about, say, political targeting of taxpayers by IRS and/or Obama administration officials and/or others.
The IRS admits that it has more than 2,000 documents related to the request. It has been ordered by a court to release them. But the agency refuses to do so, citing confidentiality requirements. Yes, Gentle Reader. Because taxpayer information must be kept confidential, no information relevant to whether confidentiality requirements have been violated may be divulged.
How about releasing the communiqués after scrubbing any taxpayer addresses or Social Security Numbers? I mean, if taxpayer confidentiality is a genuine concern.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest either joshingly or earnestly assures The Hill that the Obama administration has been “very rigorous” in enforcing proper communication between the IRS and the White House. I fear that his knowledge of the 2,000 documents — and of the Obama administration’s record of truth-telling — is not exhaustive. . . .
How likely is this obstructionism motivated by concern for taxpayers?
I bet it’s motivated by concern to protect the posteriors of bureaucrats and politicians.
I salute all those refusing to let the stonewallers get away with it.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
3 replies on “How Earnest Is The IRS?”
Still of the mind that they are only tongue in cheek re actually complying with the law themselves.
At this point, it would probably take something like bringing back public flogging to convince me otherwise.
All these hearings and no one ever gets fined, fired, or incarcerated.
Just not believable that every single one of them is good-intentioned.
There is little in human history that is more consistently self-serving than an established government.
They always state they are protecting the citizens (plural, not singular)as they are pushing the bayonet in any individual’s or entity’s back. It is a favored form of doublethink.
I’ll be happy when they actually prosecute and jail a government official for not complying with the judge’s request to reveal the info. And I’ll bet it’s a judge who does the jailing, for failing to obey the judge; not for breaking other laws. That is, if Obama and the NSA doesn’t have dirt on the judge.