-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- A congressional whitewash ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- The Joint Committee on Taxation yesterday leaked its long-awaited report on Internal Revenue Service political audits to a few select reporters. Given the direction of the committee and its pitiful results after three years, it's no wonder I wasn't one of them. You see, I broke the story that led to the congressional investigation. On Oct. 22, 1996, I first told the story of how the IRS targeted my organization, the Western Journalism Center, which had broken a number of stories the Clinton administration didn't like. The expose also provided evidence of a pattern of such audits against other non-profit organizations critical of the White House. Within days of the story, Rep. Bill Archer, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, had demanded of IRS Commissioner Margaret Milner Richardson all of the agency's records on the WJC case. Within weeks, the Joint Committee had begun a probe. Within three months, Richardson had resigned unexpectedly as commissioner. The only problem is the committee never did its job. The committee never bothered to contact me -- the guy who started it all. That should tell you a lot right there. I had to contact the committee and fly to Washington at my own expense just to meet with staff. They never bothered to get in touch with me again. And guess who is the last one to get a courtesy copy of the whitewash report? I'm quite sure the committee never even bothered to examine a Treasury Department report obtained by me last July through the Freedom of Information Act. It concluded, quite clearly and unambiguously, that the audit of the Western Journalism Center was launched as a result of a letter sent from the White House to the IRS Exempt Organizations Division. The letter was written to Bill Clinton from a constituent and it was critical of the center and called for IRS action. If that isn't a paper trail, I don't know what is. If that is not a direct action by the White House, I don't know what it is. If that isn't an abuse of power and political targeting, I don't know what else to call it. As a result, that letter, addressed to Bill Clinton calling for revocation of the tax-exempt status of the center and bearing the stamp of the White House, remained at the top of the Western Journalism Center's IRS case file while the audit took place. No matter. I still believe the truth will come out. Maybe it will have to come out in a court of law. After all, thanks to Larry Klayman's Judicial Watch, we still have two lawsuits pending that will go a long way to proving our case and securing justice. The real question is: How long will it take? A new administration will take power next January. What will its rules of engagement be? Will it have carte blanche to run roughshod over the civil liberties and First Amendment rights of media critics and political adversaries? If this precedent is allowed to stand, that will be the case. Bill Clinton abused his power by using the IRS to target and harass political enemies and he got away with it. Who will be next? Will George W. Bush or Al Gore have any reluctance to abuse power in similar ways? Why should they? We're being told everyone does it. Does that sound familiar? That's why no high officials have been held accountable for campaign finance violations. Everyone does it. That's why the president wasn't removed from office for committing perjury. Everyone does it. That's why no one has been prosecuted for transferring sensitive missile technology to China. Everyone does it. And now this. No action will be taken against the White House, because everyone uses the IRS to go after political enemies. By that they mean members of both political parties, members of both the executive branch and the Congress. I have no doubt that is true. But that is all the more reason we need to hold those responsible for the illegal activity accountable. This must stop. The very essence of our fragile republic is at stake. It's time to blow open the closet doors of the Republicans and the Democrats and have a good look at all the skeletons. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- A daily radio broadcast adaptation of Joseph Farah's commentaries can be heard at KTKZ in Sacramento and the Internet portal OnePlace.com **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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