Category Archives: tax law and election law

“House Holds Ex-I.R.S. Official in Contempt in Tea Party Case”

May 7, 2014, 4:26 pmtax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: The House voted Wednesday to hold in contempt Lois Lerner, a former Internal Revenue Service official who is the focus of multiple investigations into whether the agency targeted President Obama’s opponents. The vote gives a politically charged issue… Continue reading

“Watchdog Groups Again Call on IRS to Deny Crossroads GPS Tax-Exempt Status as 501(c)(4) Group”

May 6, 2014, 11:15 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Press release.

“Cantor calls for special prosecutor in IRS targeting investigation”

May 2, 2014, 9:31 pmtax law and election lawRick Hasen

WaPo: “The House majority leader on Friday called for Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint special counsel to investigate the Internal Revenue Service’s controversial treatment of certain advocacy groups during the past two election cycles.”

“Center files appeal with FEC to release counsel’s report”

April 30, 2014, 8:10 amcampaign finance, federal election commission, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

CCP: “The Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) filed an appeal today with the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) after a Commission’s staff member denied the group’s request for release of a controversial agency document related to a complaint against Crossroads… Continue reading

“CRS: Recent 501(c)(4) Proposed Rules Could Greatly Impact Campaign Finance”

April 25, 2014, 8:39 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: Recently proposed Treasury Department rules that would curb the political activity of 501(c)(4) groups could be critical in both campaign finance law and tax law debates, though they do contain limitations, the Congressional Research Service said in… Continue reading

“What Happens When a Dark Money Group Blows Off IRS Rules? Nothing.”

April 25, 2014, 8:18 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Must-read ProPublica.

“House Republicans Look For Justice Department Role in IRS Controversy”

April 24, 2014, 2:41 pmcampaign finance, Department of Justice, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Legal Times reports.

Tom Edsall Delves Into the IRS Mess

April 23, 2014, 7:47 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Edsall: “The continuing effort of House Republicans to characterize the IRS-Tea Party debacle as an example of a Democratic administration harassing conservative independent expenditure groups ignores the genuinely deleterious effects of slashing the federal tax collection budget.”

“Nonprofits Challenge Donor Disclosures Required by California AG, IRS, and FEC”

April 23, 2014, 7:26 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Lloyd Mayer blogs.

Ginni Thomas, Justice Thomas’s Spouse, Interviews Cleta Mitchell, and Reflects on IRS Scandal

April 21, 2014, 7:25 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Thomas says: Contrary to the president’s allegation to Fox’s Bill O’Reilly on Feb. 2 that there is “not a smidgen of corruption,” the IRS scandal is going from bad to worse as newly released emails have revealed even more… Continue reading

PunditFact on George Will on IRS as “Obama’s Watergate”

April 21, 2014, 7:16 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

PunditFact: Will likened the events at the IRS to Watergate. That’s his right as a Washington pundit, but we found little evidence (in fact, no one has) linking the actions of the IRS to the Obama White House in… Continue reading

IRS’s Lois Lerner Was Skeptical of Criminal Prosecution of 501c(4)s

April 18, 2014, 1:27 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Politico Morning Tax: LATEST IRS DRAMA, PER A NEW BATCH OF EMAILS — DOJ CONTACTED LERNER ABOUT PROSECUTING SOCIAL WELFARE GROUPS. Two days before Lois Lerner broke the IRS scandal news at a tax law conference, the Department of… Continue reading

“IRS chief committed to new rules for nonprofits despite conservative resistance”

April 16, 2014, 6:43 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

“IRS chief: New rule on the way for tax-exempt groups”

April 15, 2014, 10:28 amtax law and election lawRick Hasen

USA Today: The Internal Revenue Service is prepared to rewrite a proposed rule regulating the political activities of non-profit groups to address complaints from the right and left that it goes too far, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Monday.… Continue reading