Michael Gaynor
Obama IRS bows to resolute True the Vote, hoping to avoid discovery!
FacebookTwitter
By Michael Gaynor
September 25, 2013

Since True the Vote would not bow (and the Obama IRS wants discovery about as much as the Obama State Department wants the whole truth about the attack of its facility in Benghaza to become public, the IRS bowed!

True the Vote is a nonpartisan, voters' rights and election integrity organization focused on preserving election integrity and is operated by citizens for citizens, to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. It empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation.

Catherine Engelbrecht, True the Vote founder and president, filed for tax exempt status for True the Vote in 2010.

Unsurprisingly, the Obama Internal Revenue Service did not approve the application before the 2012 elections, even though True the Vote's application should have been approved in regular course long before.

So this year, tired of waiting and jumping through a series of hoops specially devised for it, True the Vote sued the Internal Revenue Service.

True the Vote was bold and resolute, as fellow Americans needed it to be, and received a positive response from them.

True the Vote posted this simple message of its website (www.truethevote.com): "...thank you for standing with us. Know we will stand with and for you – and we will not bow."

Since True the Vote would not bow (and the Obama IRS wants discovery about as much as the Obama State Department wants the whole truth about the attack of its facility in Benghaza to become public, the IRS bowed!

Take note, Rinos and timid Republicans.

Herewith True the Vote's press release announcing its lawsuit:

TRUE THE VOTE FILES SUIT AGAINST THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

HOUSTON, TX. May 21, 2013 – True the Vote (TTV), the nation's leading voters' rights organization, filed suit in federal court in Washington today against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), asking the Court to grant its long-awaited tax exempt status and seeking damages for the unlawful actions by the IRS in the processing of its application for exempt status. ActRight Legal Foundation, a 501(c)3 fundamental right.

"We've been waiting for three years to receive a decision from the IRS about our tax exempt status," True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said. "After answering hundreds of questions and producing thousands of documents, we're done waiting. The IRS does not have the power to pocket veto our application. Federal law empowers groups like True the Vote to force a decision in court – which is precisely what we aim to do."

"True the Vote is dedicated solely to promoting election integrity in our Republic," Engelbrecht said. "Our mission is to educate Americans on all of the rights they enjoy as voters. We do not pick winners and losers, but instead fortify the voting process so that it is fair and free. If this goal is deserving of such scrutiny, then we have serious questions that we, as a nation, must face," she added.

Cleta Mitchell, counsel to True the Vote and of counsel to ActRight Legal Foundation, stated, "We are not going to allow the IRS to claim, as it has been doing in the past week, that the targeting of conservative groups is over and 'everything has been fixed.' It is not yet fixed and this litigation is a vital step both to resolve True the Vote's status and to learn exactly what happened inside the IRS."

True the Vote's lawsuit consists of three counts:

Count One: Seeks recognition of True the Vote as a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization pursuant to 26 USC § 7428.

Count Two: Seeks damages and injunctive relief from the IRS and IRS employees and agents, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), for violation of True the Vote's constitutional rights by virtue of the actions of the government in unlawfully targeting and delaying recognition of True the Vote's exempt status.

Count Three: Seeks damages and injunctive relief against the IRS and IRS employees, pursuant to 26 USC § 7431, for their unlawful intrusions into True the Vote's activities by requiring the filing of voluminous materials with the IRS, then unlawfully inspecting and potentially disseminating the information.

"This is just the first of several cases ActRight Legal Foundation plans to file against the IRS and those within the agency who have violated the constitutional rights of these citizens' organizations," said Dr. John Eastman, Chairman of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence and of Counsel to ActRight Legal Foundation.

True the Vote posted this illuminating update:

Keeping you updated on True the Vote v. IRS

True the Vote continues to be amazed by the outpouring of support for our lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Although you may not have heard much in the news about the scandal recently, the lawsuit is going full-steam ahead.

We are still in the phase of litigation where preliminary filings are the bulk of the action. We do have, however, a few matters that we believe you would find interesting.

In late July TTV added IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins – one of only two presidential appointees in the entire Service. Our legal team felt that naming Mr. Wilkins as a defendant would help aid our effort to dig even deeper into the real facts of this scandal. Further, we added a charge that stated IRS employees violated the Administrative Procedures Act.

The federal judge assigned to our case is the Honorable Reggie B. Walton, a President George W. Bush appointee.

You can find his official website here. Judge Walton recently ordered more time be allowed to federal defendants in order to respond to our Complaint. True the Vote expects to start seeing answers this week.

True the Vote wants to keep you in the loop of all critical files in this lawsuit. Below are some links to give you the full picture of our case as it stands now. Thank you for your support!

Amended Complaint

Exhibit A: Timeline of Events

Exhibit B: Form 1023

Exhibit C: IRS Request for Information #1

Exhibit D: IRS Request for Information #2

Exhibit E: IRS Request for Information #3

Exhibit F: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration Report

Exhibit G: Letter from Office of the Taxpayer Advocate to Sen. Cornyn

Exhibit H: Letters from Members of Congress to Commissioner Werfel

Defendants Lois Lerner and Holly Paz made news earlier this week when Breitbart News reported that they had asked high-powered DC lawyers to represent them at approximately $1,000 per hour. It is still not clear how underpaid, over-worked civil servants such as these can afford such top-flight attorneys on a government salary.

As if you didn't need more proof of IRS targeting, USA Today published the actual target list of organizations seeking nonprofit status this week. Yes, True the Vote is listed with agency commentary as well.

Then the IRS bowed.

HERE'S THE TRUE THE VOTE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GREAT NEWS (http://www.truethevote.org/news/department-of-justice-and-irs-agree-to-grant-true-the-vote-s-tax-exempt-status-in-irs-lawsuit):

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND IRS AGREE TO GRANT TRUE THE VOTE'S TAX EXEMPT STATUS IN IRS LAWSUIT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 23, 2013 – Attorneys from the Department of Justice (DOJ) advised the federal court in Washington, DC late Friday that the IRS has determined to "grant True the Vote (TTV)'s tax exempt status" with the concurrence of the DOJ.

"We are pleased and relieved that the IRS and the DOJ are finally doing what should have been done three years ago, which is to recognize TTV as a charitable and educational organization, which we have always been and will continue to be," said True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht.

TTV, the nation's leading voters' rights organization, filed with the IRS for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in July 2010 and has been awaiting a decision on its application for more than three years. After discovering in May, 2013, that its application was part of a much larger scheme targeting perceived 'tea party' organizations for heightened scrutiny and years of delay in processing their applications, TTV filed suit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. requesting that the Court order that its tax-exempt status be granted. ActRight Legal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) a fundamental rights public interest law firm, represents True the Vote in the lawsuit (True the Vote v. United States of America (Civil Action No. 1:13-cv-00734-RBW)).

In addition, DOJ is arguing to the Court that since the IRS is now willing to grant TTV's tax exempt status, the lawsuit should be dismissed as 'moot.'

Cleta Mitchell, lead counsel in the litigation, and a partner at Foley & Lardner, LLP in Washington, DC, responded to the DOJ filings by noting, "While we are glad the IRS has realized TTV's tax exempt status should be granted and is now moving to rectify its failure to do sooner, this case is far from moot. There are still many questions to be answered, such as:

When is the IRS going to actually issue its letter granting tax exempt status to True the Vote?

What about the costs and damages incurred by True the Vote for the past three years while the IRS unlawfully delayed issuing the letter of recognition?

What about all of the confidential and proprietary information sought and demanded from True the Vote that the Treasury Inspector General has stated was not necessary for determining True the Vote's eligibility for exempt status, and which is now apparently going to be made public?

What about the violation of True the Vote's constitutional rights by the IRS and its agents and employees during the course of these last 3 years?

"This lawsuit is about getting to the truth and we are not going to stop until we find out the answers to these and many other questions," added Ms. Mitchell.

"If the IRS is right in its arguments that the IRS can violate the citizens' constitutional rights and there is no 'check' on its power to do so, then the American people need to know that. I cannot believe, as an American citizen, that the IRS is above the law and I refuse to accept that a citizen has no remedy against the IRS for the kinds of things it has done to our group these past three years. This case is just getting started," concluded Ms. Engelbrecht.

KEEP IT UP, TRUE THE VOTE! AMERICAN NEEDS THE TRUTH AND TRUE VOTING!

And Michelle Malkin wa ever so right about the Obama Administration's "Culture of Corruption."

© Michael Gaynor

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)

Click to enlarge

Michael Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member... (more)

Subscribe

Receive future articles by Michael Gaynor: Click here

More by this author

June 18, 2024
Who Will Make the Finals and Win the Upcoming Presidential Race?


August 7, 2023
Elections can be 'stolen' in many ways, and the 2020 U.S. presidential election is a 'perfect' example


April 11, 2023
'Politics ain't beanbag,' but investigation and prosecution of Donald Trump by rabid partisans must stop


January 16, 2023
Perhaps learning why the Pearl Harbor attack was a surprise in Hawaii but not in Washington can help us appreciate and learn from other federal government mistakes and move forward wisely


November 4, 2022
Free True the Vote's Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips


October 3, 2022
Who Sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines?


August 13, 2022
Mar-a-Lago raid shows Trump derangement syndrome has fortuitously worsened


July 5, 2022
From the Warren Court to Roberts Court to Thomas Court


May 21, 2022
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been barred from receiving Holy Communion at last


November 19, 2021
Justice ultimately prevailed in the Kyle Rittenhouse case


More articles

 

Stephen Stone
HAPPY EASTER: A message to all who love our country and want to help save it

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
FLASHBACK to 2020: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Victor Sharpe
Any Israeli alliances should include the restoration of a just, moral, and enduring pact with the Kurdish people

Linda Kimball
Man as God: The primordial heresy and the evolutionary science of becoming God

Sylvia Thompson
Should the Village People be a part of Trump's Inauguration Ceremony? No—but I suspect they will be

Jerry Newcombe
Reflections on the Good Samaritan ethic

Pete Riehm
It’s not identities; it’s ideas!

Rev. Mark H. Creech
From ministry to need: Seeking help in my darkest hour

Jerry Newcombe
Bible sales increasing

Tom DeWeese
Change the debate and take back liberty locally

Steve A. Stone
Truth will out...maybe...someday

Curtis Dahlgren
On the need for noble mothers (and fathers)

Tom DeWeese
If you are illegal, come. We’ll give you $thousands and let you kill and rape. If you are legal, go to hell

Stanley Zir
The sky is not falling, Chicken Little, under Donald Trump
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites