Saturday Movie Matinee: Armed IRS Agents Harassed Mark Levin After He Complained About IRS Conduct

Mark Levin: IRS sent armed agents to interview me after I complained about IRS misconduct:

SEE ALSO:

The Right Scoop: Mark Levin: “We cannot have an Internal Revenue Service in the country that acts like the KGB!”

Mark Levin explains his part in helping expose the IRS and their thuggery tactics on right-wing groups last year.

The Daily Caller: Mark Levin may have prompted IRS-conservative group revelations:

Conservative radio talker Mark Levin appears to have touched off the investigation into  Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative political groups back in  March 2012.

In a letter last year on behalf of the Landmark Legal Foundation, an organization he heads, Levin requested an investigation into what he called “misconduct.”

NRO: IRS Inquisition Update:

Along with targeting tea-party groups, the IRS may also have given extra-special attention to the tax-exempt status of some Jewish groups for political reason.

From the Jewish Press:

The passionately pro-Israel organization Z STREET filed a lawsuit against the IRS, claiming it had been told by an IRS agent that because the organization was “connected to Israel,” its application for tax-exempt status would receive additional scrutiny.  This admission was made in response to a query about the lengthy reveiw of Z STREET’s tax exempt status application.

In addition, the IRS agent told a Z STREET representative that the applications of some of those Israel-related organizations have been assigned to “a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the Administration’s public policies.”

Glenn Reynolds, WSJ, May 18, 2009: Tax Audits Are No Laughing Matter: A president shouldn’t even joke about abusing IRS power.

Barack Obama owes his presidency in no small part to the power of rhetoric. It’s too bad he doesn’t appreciate the damage that loose talk can do to America’s tax system, even as exploding federal deficits make revenues more important than ever.

At his Arizona State University commencement speech last Wednesday, Mr. Obama noted that ASU had refused to grant him an honorary degree, citing his lack of experience, and the controversy this had caused. He then demonstrated ASU’s point by remarking, “I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. . . . President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.”

Just a joke about the power of the presidency. Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny. But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it’s hard to see the humor. Surely he’s aware that other presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, have abused the power of the Internal Revenue Service to harass their political opponents. But that abuse generated a powerful backlash and with good reason. Should the IRS come to be seen as just a bunch of enforcers for whoever is in political power, the result would be an enormous loss of legitimacy for the tax system.

CNS: Ways and Means to IRS: ‘Provide All Communications Containing Words ‘Tea Party,’ ‘Patriot,’ or ‘Conservative’—By Wednesday:

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight has thrown down an investigative gauntlet to the Internal Revenue Service, demanding that the agency hand over by next Wednesday every communication in its records that includes the words “tea party,” “patriot” or “conservative.”

The committee is also demanding of the IRS that by next Wednesday it provide the committee with the names and titles of all individuals who were involved in targeting conservative non-profit groups for more intensive review of their applications for non-profit status.

Big Government: Cantor: House Will Investigate IRS for Targeting Tea Party Groups:

“The IRS cannot target or intimidate any individual or organization based on their political beliefs,” Cantor said on Friday. “The House will investigate this matter.”

ABC news report on Benghazi cover up: 12 Revisions and scrubbing of most damning information:

Jay Carney Spends 7 Minutes Ducking Questions On The Benghazi Talking Points Process:

O’Reilly: Jay Carney Threw Hillary ‘Under The Bus,’ Benghazi Will Haunt ‘Rest Of Her Political Life’:

Hannity And Dem. Strategist In Fiery Exchange Over Politicizing Benghazi:

SEE ALSO:

The Daily Caller: Top Obama official’s brother is president of CBS News, may drop reporter over Benghazi coverage:

The brother of a top Obama administration official is also the president of CBS News, and the network may be days away from dropping one of its top investigative reporters for covering the administration’s scandals too aggressively.

CBS News executives have reportedly expressed frustration with their own reporter, Sharyl Attkisson, who has steadily covered the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi terrorist attack in Libya since late last year.

“Network sources” told Politico Wednesday that CBS executives feel Attkisson’s Benghazi coverage is bordering on advocacy, and Attkisson “can’t get some of her stories on the air.”

Attkisson, who is in talks to leave the network before her contract expires, has been attempting to figure out who changed the Benghazi talking points for more than five months.

PJTV: TRIFECTA: Class Maledictorian: Obama Tells Graduates Not to Worry About Government Tyranny:

PJTV: New Coke:

On Target Pressure Points: Militarized Police:

In conjunction with the upcoming release of his new book, A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, John W. Whitehead sits down to discuss several “pressure points” that are threatening the Bill of Rights and undermining our essential freedoms. In part one of this special series, Whitehead examines the increased presence of militarized police.