The IRS is the intimidation arm of the Obama regime. Not only are they being used to enforce Obamacare, they are intimidating those oppose to Obama’s big government ideology and record spending spree.
(CNSNews.com) – A conservative civil liberties group accuses the Internal Revenue Service of attempting to “intimidate and silence” a number of tea party groups that have applied for tax-exempt status.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) says IRS requests for information about the groups included “probing questions” that violate the free speech and freedom of association rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
“This appears to be a coordinated attempt to intimidate Tea Party organizations by demanding information that is outside the scope of legitimate inquiry and violates the First Amendment,” said Jay Sekulow, ACLJ’s chief counsel.
“These organizations have followed the law and applied for tax exempt status for their activities as Americans have done for decades. The problem here is the IRS has gone beyond legitimate inquiries and is demanding that these organizations answer questions that actually violate the First Amendment rights of our clients.”
Among other things, ACLJ complains that the IRS is demanding that the tea party groups reveal the internal workings of their organizations, including the identification of members, how they are selected, who they associate with, and even what they discuss.
“This intimidation campaign is as onerous as what the IRS did to the NAACP in the 1950′s and is simply unacceptable. We will aggressively defend our clients and are prepared to take the IRS to court if necessary,” ACLJ said Wednesday in a news release.
