Category Archives: Cabinet
IRS Song and Dance
IRS lavish spending on conferences included this video. Meanwhile the agency harassed conservative groups. An anti-abortion group was ordered not to protest near Planned Parenthood in exchange for its tax exemption and was asked intimidating questions.
“The questioning included requests for copies of Facebook postings, the content of prayers, political beliefs of members, résumés of board members and dealings with the media.”
Off the Record
President Obama has proclaimed himself a fierce defender of the First Amendment . On cue, Eric Holderman called for a meeting of news honchos to clear the air about his secretive and nasty behavior toward them. True to form, the meeting was off the record.
Strange behavior for a couple of guys who only know what they read.
Update: Here’s a great Nat Hentoff piece on two Obamas. (He mentions the efforts of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to lead the pushback for the first amendment. Nat’s a RCFP steering committee member and so am I.)
Trend Setter
“He put a target on our backs, and he’s now going to blame the people who are shooting at us?” asks Idaho businessman and longtime Republican donor Frank VanderSloot.
The WSJ’s Kimberly Strassel says the IRS scandal goes to the top. The president publicly implied enemies were out to get him and that set the tone.
Vandersloot was a wealthy contributor to the Romney campaign. He was subjected to searches of his divorce records and 3 IRS audits. He spent $80,000 defending himself.
Taking the Fifth on Your 1040
You don’t have to belong to a right wing constitutional group to suspect Lois Lerner pulled a fast one when she claimed she was innocent and then took the fifth.
The IRS has placed her on paid administrative leave.
Update: Here’s a Mark Steyn column about Lois Lerner signing off on, and backdating, the tax exempt status of a foundation run by the president’s brother. He also notes that you have no fifth amendment rights when it comes to the I.R.S.
Don’t Question Authority
The Justice Department has labeled Fox News reporter James Rosen a co-conspirator with Stephen Jin-Woo Kim. Kim was charged with violating the Espionage Act for divulging classified information. The feds used the co-conspirator charge to violate Rosen’s first amendment rights. They snooped through his personal email account, phone records and his parents’ phone number. The way Eric Holder’s Justice Department sees it, asking questions about classified information (i.e., journalism) is illegal.
Kirsten Powers reminded readers that the Obama administration and its posse have had it in for Fox News from the get go, insisting that Fox isn’t a real news operation. Much of the mainstream-media remained silent on that charge though Jack Tapper would be an exception. When Tapper asked where the White House got off saying thousands of Fox employees don’t work for a media organization Jay Carney replied, “that’s our opinion”.
Obama recently told Ohio State students not to question authority. Looks like he really meant it.
