You’d think a political organization looking for permanent protection from being unfairly targeted by the Internal Revenue Service isn’t asking for much. Just treat them as every other tax exempt organization.
For the feds, however, this is too way much, and it only goes to demonstrate why Americans should abandon all hope of the courts protecting their rights.
Recently a federal court rejected a Tea Party groups request to prevent the IRS from targeting them for special scrutiny, according to the Washington Times.
And you’re not going to believe Judge Reggie B. Walton’s rationale for his ruling. He believes the same agency that abused its authority can self-regulate itself, and so it won’t ever happen again.
Walton wrote in his ruling:
“The defendants’ grant of tax-exempt status to the plaintiff, and the defendants’ suspension of the alleged IRS targeting scheme during the tax-exempt application process, including remedial steps to address the alleged conduct, coupled with the reduced ‘concern about the recurrence of objectionable behavior’ government actors … convinces the court that the ‘voluntary cessation’ exception is not applicable here.”
He also refused a request by the same Tea Party group to make Lois G. Lerner and other current and former IRS employees pay a penalty for targeting them.
This would be like a court refusing to grant a victim of domestic violence a protection order against their abuser because the perpetrator told the judge that he was really sorry and he could control himself and he would never do it again. The judge also tells the victim they can’t force their abuser to pay for their medical expenses resulting from the abuse.
Oh, and the judge happens to be best friends with the abuser who has also been a victim of his behavior.
If Walton’s name seems familiar, it’s because he’s the same judge who authorized NSA spying on millions of innocent Americans through the FISA Court, even though he complained in secret about what the court was told in secret.
Walton knows he was lied to about what was really going on at the NSA, but somehow thinks that the IRS is perfectly trustworthy.
It’s embarrassing that we’re still told by “our betters” that we should rely on people like Walton to uphold our rights and defend our civil liberties whenever they are violated.
Yes, we’re supposed to expect the same people who authorize a mass surveillance program that would have had the East German Stasi taking diligent notes to protect us against government abuse of power.
As the saying goes, you can think we’re stupid, just don’t talk to us like we are.
Americans cannot and should not depend on the federal court system to do anything for them except rubber stamp more unconstitutional power grabs committed by whatever ABC federal agency happens to be represented in the courtroom.
And for all of those out there who think the blame for the ruling’s outcome lies solely at the Democrats’ feet, keep in mind that Walton was appointed by President George W. Bush.
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