IRS Claims Powers to Punish Political Dissenters

[nolabels]

I picked up this story at http://www.antiwar.com/ I have heard people say that when the left hand meets the right hand at the other end something might be wrong. I am not a money grubing fool, but do know it's about as necessary as air and water into todays world.

I do post this noting where what the websites motto is, of course.


http://www.sianews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1414
The IRS Claims New Patriot Act Type Powers to Punish Political Dissenters

by Robert R. Raymond
November 28,2003

In a precendent-setting case, the IRS wielded new power to punish the political speech of those who "espouse views" the government considers "inconsistent" with government-held beliefs. In a hearing originally closed to the public in a secret tribunal on a military island, but moved to a public location after protests from the press and the public, the IRS wants to wield this power against a former IRS whistleblower, who was forced to resign upon his discovery of fraud in the agency.

After monitoring and taping the whisteblower's appearances on Sixty Minutes, talk radio shows, and political publications where he rebroadcast his findings of IRS fraud, the IRS initiated this inquisition against their former whistelblower. This new power may find new political targets soon enough.

The IRS, through the small office of "Director of Practice," claims the authority to wield carte blanche authority over all the other powers of government -- the authority to monitor, surveil, and eavesdrop on political dissenters, the authority to pry into the private financial records of banks, businesses, and taxpayers, the authority to conduct secret investigations under a criminal grand jury, and the authority to censure political dissenters by branding on them a badge of infamy and stripping them of governmentally- protected licenses. In short, under the guise of a "practice" investigation, the IRS claims the right to wield all intrusive and invasive powers of government available...

A "license" to practice before the IRS -- even for people who have never requested such a license or actually practiced before the IRS, but are given one as a matter of law if they are accountants -- "licenses" the IRS to conduct private audits without notice to the taxpayer, confer with criminal prosecutors without disclosure, and bring special "disbarment" proceedings against disfavored dissenters, even if the alleged "disreputable" conduct has nothing to do with any "practice" before the IRS.

The IRS now claims it can use these so-called "practice" investigations of anyone who Congress licenses to practice before the IRS -- regardless of whether they actually practice before the IRS -- to surveil the public appearances of dissenters, eavesdrop on the political conversations of dissenters, benefit from secret grand jury investigations, hold secret conferences with the criminal investigators, surreptiously tap the private database of taxpayer information, including taxpayers who merely have some financial "connection" to the accused, audit the political dissenter's personal financial records, and use all this information against the dissenter in the "practice" proceeding
(snip)

[AntiCoup2K4]

1. Probably why they targeted Willie Nelson a few years back

Funny how the IRS started harrassing Willie soon after his Farm Aid concerts focused public attention on the problems of the family farms and how they were being forced out of existence by corporate farming - not to mention the genetically modified food industry (ADM, Monsanto, etc)

[slaveplanet]

2. and there you have it

Powers delegated in secret that would make the east German Stazi and the KGB jealous. Our children will never know freedom

[papau]

3. WOW - what spin - FOX Quality - !! - This guy won't pay income tax!

end of story.

[forgethell]

4. The IRS

should be done away with. IF there is any one agency in the Federal government more like the Gestapo than any other, it is not the White House, it is not the FBI, it is not the military, it is not the CIA, it IS the IRS.

Through Republican and Democratic asministrations alike, this monster has encroached upon our rights and pocketbooks. Where else are you guilty until proven innocent??

[Eric J in MN]

5. omissions in the article

The whistleblower's name?

The date of the "60 Minutes" broadcast?

Which island?

Which public location?

[booley]

6. Not to rain on you..

But wasn't this something that Freepers love to accuse Clinton of doing?

I am not even going into whether such an accusation is true (and if it was, why did so many of his political enemies seem to have no trouble with the IRS?) but..as anybody who has ever "argued" with a freeper or just a con knows, they will simply say that Clinton did this and it's our (liberal"s ) fault and thats that. They won't even care if Shrub is doing what they accused Clinton of. They wil try to turn it into a debate on defending Clinton. As far as they are concerned, using clinton is just a way to shut down the conversation.

So , anyway around this that you guys can see?

[oasis]

7. I, for one, could care less about a freeper. There are citizens out there

who just might be inflammed by excessive government intrusion.

[Scott Lee]

8. This is not really new.

Presidents have used the IRS as a weapon on political enemies before. Nixon even went on tape stating his intention to use the IRS to "get the Jews in DNC" who opposed him. It's not right by any stretch of the imagination but unfortunately it's one of those gaping holes in the law that would allow such a thing to happen.

Will Bush* use the IRS as a truncheon against dissidence as well? In a heartbeat.

[durutti]

9. Some Thoughts

Ways we can counter the right's financial advantage:

1. Reinvigorate the labor movement.

2. Expect small contributions from everyone, rather than big contributions form a few.

3. People who can't donate money should donate their time as volunteers for the cause.