Update on True the Vote v. IRS lawsuit
Good morning, !I'm writing today so that you know what has happened before you hear about it on the news. As much as I want the whole nightmare of government targeting and abuse to be over with, it still isn’t.You may recall that we recently settled our True the Vote v. IRS lawsuit. We settled because the Department of Justice implored us to make peace "for the good of the Administration" . They assured us they would strongly enforce the provisions of our consent decree and would allow us to petition for the recovery of attorney's fees. So, we signed off on the settlement. Now, the DOJ has totally reversed course. They filed an opposition to our petition, saying that all conservative groups lost; that the decrees don't matter to them; consequently, they will not abide by its constraints, much less pay attorney's fees. Please watch the video below. It will give you a better sense of what this means, not just to True the Vote, but to all conservative organizations. Our final filing will be April 12th. Depending on what the court decides, we then plan to go on offense with a full-court advocacy effort to press Congress for a legislative fix. The bottom line is this - as things currently stand, there is still nothing to prevent the IRS from resuming its targeting and abuse.Nothing has changed.
We are struggling under the weight of attorney's fees - both with this case and another that the Texas Democrat Party filed against us. These groups continue to fight against us because we are effective - and True the Vote is still the only national pro-liberty organization solely focused on preserving voters' rights. They are working overtime to put us out of business before we can gear up for mid-term elections.We could not continue on in this effort were it not for your support of our organization - and we hope you will consider again donating to True the Vote, because we are truly in need. Thank you, again and as always, for all you do for True the Vote.
Onward!
Catherine Engelbrechtcell - 832.444.7701True the VotePO Box 131768Houston, TX 77219
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: [email protected] (970) 614-5658
Trump Administration Defends IRS Targeting of American Citizens
Department of Justice Argues in Favor of Lois Lerner and Paves the Way for Future Abuse
HOUSTON, TX - March 29, 2018 - In a stunning turn of events involving the True the Vote v. IRS lawsuit, Department of Justice attorneys, representing the Internal Revenue Service, have filed a strident opposition to True the Vote’s petition for consideration of fees, claiming victory for the IRS! Despite wholesale admissions of wrongdoing by the IRS and findings by the D.C. District Court that such wrongdoing is unlawful and unconstitutional, the DOJ now claims that conservative groups’ lawsuits did nothing to change the behavior of the Internal Revenue Service. In the filing, the Department of Justice makes the following claims on behalf of the IRS:
- all conservative groups lost
- the IRS is legally free to resume its discriminatory practices targeting conservative groups
- the IRS’s five-year legal battle against conservative groups was justified
YouTube Link:
It is impossible to distinguish the Trump DOJ’s arguments from the Obama DOJ’s actions that led to this litigation battle in the first place. (Full IRS filing can be found here). In this video, True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht responds to the IRS’s outrageous denial of wrongdoing:“The Trump Administration is defending the IRS’s targeting of American citizens? How is that possible?”, said Ms. Engelbrecht, “After all the Congressional hearings, all the courtroom drama, all the stump speeches decrying what happened and promising ‘Never Again!’; Mr. President, if you want to make America great again, then with all due respect, start by cleaning house in two agencies that have gone completely off the rails. End IRS abuse, hold rogue agents accountable, and stop the DOJ’s games. We are citizens, not subjects, and we will not be silenced.” True the Vote will file their final response with the court on April 12, 2018. They remain hopeful US District Judge Reggie Walton will issue a decision that sets the record straight and holds the IRS accountable for their unlawful actions.
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True the Vote (TTV) is an IRS-designated 501(c)(3) voters' rights organization, founded to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.
