ACLJ Rejects Obama Administration's for Conservative Groups Unlawfully Targeted By IRS' calling it "Deeply Flawed."

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which has filed a federal lawsuit representing 41 conservative groups that have been unlawfully targeted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), said today it is rejecting the government's offer for "expedited review" of applications for some conservative groups which have been waiting for years for a determination on their tax-exempt status, calling the offer "deeply flawed."

Last month, the IRS offered to expedite the application process for organizations seeking 501(c)(4) status by creating an arbitrary 60/40 standard for groups which would require organizations to agree to devote 60% or more of their time and expenditures on activities to promote social welfare, and 40% or less on political activity.

In rejecting the offer, the ACLJ contends that the 60/40 ratio created by the IRS is not a legal standard defined by applicable statutes or regulations.

"The IRS created this standard out of thin air in an effort to placate Americans who have been unlawfully and unconstitutionally targeted by the IRS because of their political beliefs," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "This so-called solution is deeply flawed and does nothing to address and correct the real problem at the IRS: a pervasive and systematic assault on conservative organizations. The IRS remains an agency incapable of self-governance or self-correction. Our federal lawsuit is moving forward to stop this abusive targeting scheme and to hold those responsible for this disturbing conduct accountable."

In a letter rejecting "expedited review" for seven groups represented by the ACLJ, Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow told the Justice Department:   ". . . the 60/40 percentage representations which you propose to impose upon our clients in order for them to be eligible for the expedited process are not legal standards defined by applicable statutes or regulations. These percentages are merely safe harbor provisions the IRS has crafted in response to the problems that have been created by its own admitted misconduct."

Noting that each application of the seven organizations seeking 501(c)(4) status have now been pending for more than 645 days, and in one case, for 1,297 days.

The ACLJ tells the DOJ that "because these seven clients have been awaiting determination for years and have complied with all legitimate requests for additional information, we request that the IRS complete its review of their applications and make a final determination immediately."

The seven organizations which reject the IRS offer: Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots in Arizona, Allen Area Patriots in Texas, Laurens County Tea Party in South Carolina, North East Tarrant Tea Party in Texas, Myrtle Beach Tea Party in South Carolina, Albuquerque Tea Party in New Mexico, and the Acadiana Patriots in Louisiana.

This development comes just one day before Congressional hearings resume on the IRS scandal before the House Oversight Committee.

The ACLJ's lawsuit, posted here, urges the court to find that the Obama Administration overstepped its authority and violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as the IRS's own rules and regulations. The lawsuit requests a declaratory judgment that the Defendants unlawfully delayed and obstructed the organizations' applications for a determination of tax-exempt status by means of conduct that was based on unconstitutional criteria and impermissibly disparate treatment of the groups.

The suit also seeks injunctive relief to protect our clients – and their officers and directors – from further IRS abuse or retaliation. Further, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive monetary damages to be determined at trial at a later date.

The ACLJ represents a total of 41 organizations in 22 states in the lawsuit. The names of the organizations represented are available here. Of the 41 groups, 19 organizations received tax-exempt status after lengthy delays, 17 are still pending, and 5 withdrew applications because of frustration with the IRS process.

The IRS contends that the targeting scheme originated with a couple of rogue IRS agents out of the Cincinnati, Ohio office and contends the abusive conduct has been halted. However, the ACLJ has correspondence showing this tactic was used not only in the Cincinnati office, but also from two offices in California – El Monte and Laguna Niguel – as well as the national office in Washington, D.C. In fact, the Washington office sent a letter to one of our clients as recently as April 2013.

Furthermore, the ACLJ has letters signed by Lois Lerner, Director of Exempt Organizations, suggesting her personal involvement in sending invasive questionnaires to 15 of our clients in March 2012 - some nine months after she was told about the scheme and promised to stop it.

The ACLJ has heard from nearly 120,000 Americans calling on President Obama and members of Congress to end the IRS abuse.

Source... PR Newswire

http://lawofficesofjonathanfranklin.blogspot.com/

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600   
 http://www.jonathanfranklinlaw.com

41 More Groups In Federal Lawsuit Against IRS

The American Center for Law and Justice today filed an amended lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C. – adding an additional 16 Tea Party and conservative organizations, including a pro-life group, to the complaint – bringing to 41 the total number of organizations represented in the court challenge. On May 29, 2013, the ACLJ filed the initial lawsuit on behalf of 25 organizations arguing top Obama Administration officials – including those at the Internal Revenue Service – violated the constitutional rights of the groups by secretly targeting these organizations because of their political beliefs.

"The floodgates opened after we filed our initial lawsuit," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "We have been contacted by many additional organizations that have been unlawfully targeted by the IRS – revealing that this unconstitutional scheme was pervasive and damaging to our clients. As Congress continues its investigation, and as we expand our federal lawsuit, we're confident that the truth will be revealed and important questions answered: How did this targeting scheme begin? Who ordered it? How could the White House counsel and White House chief of staff know about this tactic but the President did not? We remain dedicated to ensuring that those responsible for this unconscionable scheme are held accountable."

The amended complaint, which adds 16 organizations to the original list of 25 groups, argues that IRS officials "working in offices from California to Washington, D.C., pulled applications from conservative organizations, delayed processing those applications for sometimes well over a year, then made probing and unconstitutional requests for additional information that often required applicants to disclose, among other things, donor lists, direct and indirect communications with members of legislative bodies, Internet passwords and usernames, copies of social media and other Internet postings, and even the political and charitable activities of family members."

Among the organizations added to the complaint is a pro-life group singled out because of its opposition to abortion.

The ACLJ contends the group, AMEN (Abortion Must End Now) – based in Yuma, AZ – was singled out because of its name and because the group is "focused on defending the Sanctity of Life and to put an end to abortion once and for all" and intends to "provide education . . . about the effects of abortion and to present pro-life brochures." The group applied for 501(c)(3) status in 2010 and its application is still pending.

In a letter dated October 20, 2010 to AMEN, an IRS specialist in the Cincinnati office questioned the appropriateness of the organization's goal to provide education and awareness about its beliefs that human life must be protected. In fact, the letter stated that IRS policy draws a bright line – classifying certain activities as political rather than educational – even questioning the organization's communication strategy and content.

The IRS letter to the pro-life group stated that the communication method used by the group "will not be considered educational . . . if it fails to provide a development from the relevant facts that would materially aid a listener or reader in a learning process." The IRS letter also cautioned against using what it termed as "strong emotional feelings" in an organization's messaging.

"This is outrageous," said Sekulow. "Now we have evidence that the IRS is somehow uniquely qualified to make a determination about content and regulate how a pro-life organization can explain its mission and beliefs. Imagine the outcry if Planned Parenthood or NARAL was subjected to this abuse. This is another blatant example of an IRS out of control – an agency that embraces unlawful and unconstitutional conduct."

The ACLJ also argues that another organization – the Arlington Tea Party of Arlington, TX – received harassing and invasive questions from the IRS. In a letter dated February 16, 2012, an IRS specialist demanded that the group provide "a temporary Username and Password that we could use to review your organization's website." The IRS also demanded "hardcopy printouts" of its social media pages, copies of all solicitations and documents concerning the organization's fundraising activities "in an election year and non-election year," and "copies of handouts to the audience" and "workshop materials that instructors will use" at the organization's public events. The Arlington Tea Party applied for 501(c)(4) status in 2011 and the case is still pending.

The amended lawsuit, posted here, urges the court to find that the Obama Administration overstepped its authority and violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as the IRS's own rules and regulations. The lawsuit requests a declaratory judgment that the Defendants unlawfully delayed and obstructed the organizations' applications for a determination of tax-exempt status by means of conduct that was based on unconstitutional criteria and impermissibly disparate treatment of the groups.

The suit also seeks injunctive relief to protect our clients – and their officers and directors – from further IRS abuse or retaliation. Further, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive monetary damages to be determined at trial at a later date.

According to the complaint: "The IRS scheme had a dramatic impact on targeted groups, causing many to curtail lawful activities, expend considerable unnecessary funds, lose donor support, and devote countless hours of time to responding to onerous and targeted IRS information requests that were outside the scope of legitimate inquiry."

The ACLJ now represents a total of 41 organizations in 22 states in the lawsuit. The names of the organizations represented are available here. Of the 41 groups, 19 organizations received tax-exempt status after lengthy delays, 17 are still pending, and 5 withdrew applications because of frustration with the IRS process.

The IRS contends that the targeting scheme originated with a couple of rogue IRS agents out of the Cincinnati, Ohio office and contends the abusive conduct has been halted. However, the ACLJ has correspondence showing this tactic was used not only in the Cincinnati office, but also from two offices in California – El Monte and Laguna Niguel – as well as the national office in Washington, D.C. In fact, the Washington office sent a letter to one of our clients as recently as April 2013.

Furthermore, the ACLJ has letters signed by Lois Lerner, Director of Exempt Organizations, suggesting her personal involvement in sending invasive questionnaires to 15 of our clients in March 2012 - some nine months after she was told about the scheme and promised to stop it.

The ACLJ has heard from nearly 120,000 Americans calling on President Obama and members of Congress to end the IRS abuse.

Read More.... http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aclj-now-represents-41-conservative-groups-in-federal-lawsuit-against-irs-212975111.html

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600   
 http://www.jonathanfranklinlaw.com

Federal Court In Montana Keeps War Memorial In Place

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which focuses on constitutional law, today called a decision by a federal court which clears the way for a statue of Jesus to remain as part of a World War II memorial on a Montana mountain a "win for protecting the religious heritage and history of our nation." A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by an atheist group – Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) – concluding the memorial did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The ACLJ filed several amicus briefs, representing more than 100,000 Americans and a total of 19 members of Congress, to keep the Jesus statue on Big Mountain.

"We are extremely pleased that the courts finally recognized the absurdity of this lawsuit," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "Dismissing this case is not only a win for protecting the religious heritage and history of our nation, but for the soldiers and veterans of World War II as well. A memorial like this, created and placed on this mountain by the veterans themselves, deserves to remain there. It honors and commemorates the basic human rights that the FFRF manipulates to routinely counteract the rights of others, like the soldiers who fight for them."

The atheist group filed the suit more than a year ago, calling the memorial "a ruse and a sham" and demanding the National Forest Service remove the display.

Part of a war memorial on Big Mountain at Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana since the 1950s, the statue was inspired by monuments the soldiers – who were also members of the Knights of Columbus – saw in the mountains of Europe during the war.

"The statue does not convey to a reasonable informed observer that the government, rather than a private party, endorses Christianity over any other faith or the absence of faith," according to U.S. District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen. "[T]he Court finds that the renewal of the Special Use Permit does not constitute a government endorsement of a religious message and thus does not violate the Establishment Clause."

The ACLJ filed two amicus briefs in the case – one in August 2012 and one in January 2013 – and represented a total of 19 members of Congress as well as more than 100,000 Americans who signed on to the ACLJ's Committee to Defend the Jesus Statue War Memorial – Americans who support veterans' memorials and who oppose efforts to strip from public property recognitions of history and heritage that contain religious symbolism.

the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. and is online at www.aclj.org

Source... http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aclj-federal-court-in-montana-keeps-war-memorial-in-place---win-for-protecting-the-religious-heritage-and-history-of-our-nation-213023701.html

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600   
 http://www.jonathanfranklinlaw.com

Federal Lawsuit Against IRS Abuse from 25 Tea Party Groups

The American Center for Law and Justice today filed a significant lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of 25 Tea Party and conservative organizations against the U.S. Attorney General, Treasury Secretary, and Internal Revenue Service - including top IRS officials.

"The IRS and the federal government are not going to get away with this unlawful targeting of conservative groups," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "As this unconstitutional scheme continues even today, the only way to stop this flagrant and arrogant abuse of our clients' rights is to file a federal lawsuit, which we have done. The lawsuit sends a very powerful message to the IRS and the Obama Administration – including the White House: Americans are not going to be bullied and intimidated by our government. They will not be subjected to unconstitutional treatment and unlawfully singled out and punished because of their ideological beliefs. Those responsible for this unprecedented intimidation ploy must be held accountable."

The lawsuit, posted here, urges the court to find that the Obama Administration overstepped its authority and violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as the IRS's own rules and regulations. The lawsuit requests a declaratory judgment that the Defendants unlawfully delayed and obstructed the organizations' applications for a determination of tax-exempt status by means of conduct that was based on unconstitutional criteria and impermissibly disparate treatment of the groups. The suit also seeks injunctive relief to protect our clients – and their officers and directors – from further IRS abuse or retaliation. Further, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive monetary damages to be determined at trial at a later date.

In the lawsuit, the ACLJ cites six counts arguing the federal government violated the Constitution, federal law, and even its own rules and regulations.

The suit contends that the Obama Administration "unlawfully delayed and thereby effectively denied approval of Plaintiffs' applications for tax exempt status by means of a comprehensive, pervasive, invidious and organized scheme that purposefully established unnecessary and burdensome inquiries and scrutiny of Plaintiffs' applications based solely upon Plaintiffs' political viewpoints (or Defendants' assumption of Plaintiffs' viewpoints, based on their organizational names)."

Further, the complaint asserts that the federal government's "unlawful conduct included but was not limited to excessive scrutiny of Plaintiffs' applications by requiring donor names, listing of issues important to Plaintiffs' organizations, including their positions on such issues, the contents of communications between the organizations and legislative bodies, the applicants' criteria for membership, volunteer names and the political affiliations of persons associated with the organizations . . ."

The ACLJ represents a total of 25 organizations in the lawsuit, with additional groups likely to be added to the suit as it progresses. The names of the organizations represented are available here. Of the 25 groups, 13 organizations received tax-exempt status after lengthy delays, 10 are still pending, and two withdrew applications because of frustration with the IRS process.

The ACLJ lists as defendants in the case: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ; the Internal Revenue Service; Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew ; Steven Miller , former acting Commissioner of the IRS; Lois Lerner , Director of Exempt Organizations Division for the IRS; Holly Paz , Director, Office of Rulings and Agreements; and unknown named officials inside the IRS.

The IRS contends that the targeting scheme originated with a couple of rogue IRS agents out of the Cincinnati, Ohio office and contends the abusive conduct has been halted. However, the ACLJ has correspondence showing this tactic was used not only in the Cincinnati office, but also from two offices in California – El Monte and Laguna Niguel – as well as the national office in Washington, D.C. In fact, the Washington office sent a letter to one of our clients as recently as one month ago.

Furthermore, the ACLJ has letters signed by Lois Lerner, Director of Exempt Organizations, suggesting her personal involvement in sending invasive questionnaires to 15 of our clients in March 2012 - some nine months after she was told about the scheme and promised to stop it.

The ACLJ has heard from nearly 100,000 Americans calling on President Obama and members of Congress to end the IRS abuse.

Read More.... http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aclj-files-federal-lawsuit-against-irs-on-behalf-of-25-tea-party-groups-209364371.html