Obama Accused of Sabotaging IRS Probe

Beginning in 2013, the Obama administration engaged in a widespread and coordinated effort to target certain politically oriented groups deemed hostile or opposed to the leftist agenda promoted by the White House. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in particular targeted conservative and tea party groups in an effort to hinder their activities and, eventually, terminate their tax-exempt status.

Knowledge of the blatant political targeting of opponents of the ruling regime sparked outrage, congressional hearings, and an undoubtedly compromised federal investigation into the scandal spearheaded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DoJ).

Unsurprisingly, the DoJ announced in late October of last year that no charges would be filed against the IRS, any of its officials—including Lois Gail Lerner, who directed the Exempt Organizations Unit of the IRS which is in charge of processing tax exempt applications from political organizations—or specific individuals in the Obama administration suspected of being involved with the politically motivated targeting.

At the time, the DoJ’s decision to close the investigation without bringing charges against those responsible for the politically motivated targeting of opponents of the regime as well as the corruption and mismanagement of the IRS drew fierce criticism from House Republicans and leading conservatives.

Representative Darrell Edward Issa (R-Calif.) served as the chairman of the House Oversight Committee at the time it investigated the IRS scandal and correctly argued that the DoJ’s decision gave the impression that “government officials are above the law.”

“The Justice Department’s decision to close the IRS targeting investigation without a single charge or prosecution is a low point of accountability in an administration that is better known for punishing whistleblowers than the abuse and misconduct they expose,” Issa noted in a statement at the time. “After stating that their investigation confirms that tea party and conservative groups were improperly targeted, they dismiss it merely as a byproduct of gross mismanagement and incompetence—ignoring volumes of evidence in the public record and efforts to obstruct legitimate inquiries.”