Texas Nonprofit Is Cleared After GOP-Prompted Audit

Washington Post:

“The Internal Revenue Service recently audited the books of a Texas nonprofit group that was critical of campaign spending by former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) after receiving a request for the audit from one of DeLay's political allies in the House, [House Ways and Means Committee member Sam Johnson (R-Tex.)]. ... Johnson, a member of the subcommittee responsible for oversight of the tax agency, sparked the IRS's interest by telling IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson in a letter dated Aug. 3, 2004, that he had ‘uncovered some disturbing information’ and received complaints of possible tax violations. Johnson said he was sure the IRS would follow up. ‘I ask you to report back your findings of each of these investigations directly to me,’ he told Everson in the letter, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

This abuse of the IRS is an open secret in Washington. Each year, dozens or hundreds of such audits are triggered by requests from Congress or the White House. Many Americans are under the mistaken notion that such abuses ended with President Richard Nixon's resignation. In fact, Presidents and Congressmen since have continued to abuse the IRS, if a little less blatantly. It takes the form of forwarding to the IRS newspaper articles or constituents' letters accusing tax-exempt groups of behavior that would invalidate their tax-exempt status. The IRS maintains that decisions to conduct audits are its own, but political pressure is obvious when a Congressman like Sam Johnson calls the forwarded information "disturbing" and asks the IRS to report the results of its investigation directly to the Congressman.

Rep. Johnson's actions may be standard operating procedure in Washington, but such behavior is as dishonorable today as it was when Congress began drawing up articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon, including the charge that he endeavored "to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigation to be initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner." It's been over thirty years since Richard Nixon resigned. It's time such abuses stop.