The Obama IRS Loses Yet Again

With all that has happened over the last year, the scandal of the IRS denying tax exempt status to conservative, Christian and Jewish organizations that clearly deserved such status has receded into the background.  Today, however, brought a court decision that brings the matter back to the foreground.  This time the organization in question is called "Z Street" and it is an advocacy group that supports Israel.  Six years ago, Z Street filed with the IRS to be approved as a tax exempt organization (which should have been a two day matter.)  The IRS actually told the attorney for Z Street that under a new policy, any organization that disagreed with the official policy of the Obama administration would be subject to special and strict review of its application.  Z Street sued the IRS arguing that this policy was a denial of its first amendment rights to free speech.  The IRS has stalled and stalled the case, but the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit today made clear that the case must move ahead.  That means that starting in the next few days, there will be discovery used which will require the IRS to state, among other things, who it was who established this policy, when this happened, what documents exist which record the policy, which people at the White House were involved in reviewing the policy, and a whole host of other facts that the IRS has been trying to keep secret for years.

This may not seem like much today, but it is a big deal.  Finally, there will be court ordered disclosure of the details of this scandal. 

And, by the way, Z Street is still waiting for the IRS to act on its application for tax exempt status some six and a half years after it was filed.