In 2010 the pro-Israel group 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." (Source)
Cincinnati-based IRS agent, Gary Muthert told House Oversight Committee investigators, the targeting goes further than what Z-Street knew at the time and that the pro-Israel group wasn't just receiving additional scrutiny, but that the special unit their application is sent to, is the IRS anti-terrorism unit.
As are other Jewish and pro-Israel groups' applications.
Asked whether Jewish or pro-Israel applications are treated differently from other applications, Gary Muthert told House Oversight Committee investigators that they are considered “specialty cases” and that “probably” all are sent to an IRS unit that examines groups for potential terrorist ties.Read the entire background details at NRO.
Muthert, who served as an application screener before transferring to the agency’s antiterrorism unit, was interviewed in connection with the committee’s investigation into the IRS’s discrimination against conservative groups. As a screener, Muthert flagged tea-party applications and passed them along to specialists for further scrutiny.
Asked by investigators whether “all pro-Israel applicants went to the terrorism unit,” Muthert responded, “Probably . . . foreign activity, pro-Israel — if it is any type of foreign activity, it will go to the antiterrorism area.” Screeners like Muthert must consult the list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Treasury Department office that enforces economic and trade sanctions, and “the terrorist list . . . because a lot of organizations will create charities to funnel the money to terrorist countries.”
In further questioning, Muthert was more categorical, saying that pro-Israel groups get “not so much additional scrutiny, just more procedures.”
“More review?” an investigator asked.
“Clearly, correct,” Muthert responded.
Under the Obama administration, those supportive of one of America's closest allies, are treated as potential terrorists.
Other IRS revelations this week include, via Fox News: A Washington-based IRS supervisor acknowledged she was personally involved in reviewing Tea Party applications for tax-exempt status as far back as 2010, Fox News confirms -- a detail that further challenges the agency's initial claim that the practice of singling out those groups was limited to a handful of employees in Ohio.
Add the pro-Israel groups in with the Tea Party, Patriot and 9/12 groups, toss in the pro-life groups who had their tax exempt applications threatened unless they agreed to not protest the Obama backed Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, and then the claims of Mitt Romney donors being audited immediately after Obama publicly targeted them on his campaign website, and we have an agency under Obama, the IRS, who punished anybody that disagreed with Obama on policy, foreign and domestic.
Yet Obama claims he knew nothing about it until he learned of it on the news.........
According to Gallup, 50 percent of national adults believe Obama administration officials knew about the conservative targeting and 58 percent disapprove of Obama's handling of the situation.
In the meantime, Sarah Hall Ingram,who headed the IRS’ tax-exempt division from 2010 to 2012, when the targeting began and continued under her watchful eye, was promoted and is currently in charge of overseeing the IRS's implementation of Obamacare.
Is it any wonder the majority of Americans disapprove of Obama's handling of the IRS scandal?
Full Wake up America coverage on the IRS scandal can be found here.
