The IRS used the political views of conservative "tea party" groups trying to get non-profit status as a reason for extra scrutiny and continued delaying applications until 2013 — long after they said they'd stopped — new federal court filings allege.
The new accusations counter previous IRS claims that agents did not consider political beliefs when slowing down tax-exempt applications from right-leaning groups in the months leading up to the 2012 presidential election.
The IRS had instead argued that it was merely monitoring whether the groups were conducting more political activity than was allowed.
The filings by conservative groups suing the IRS also state the agency continued the practice after IRS officials said it had stopped in 2011.
That accused discrimination then continued as the IRS and Treasury Department conducted an internal investigation into the practice, the documents state.
No motive for the potential discrimination was mentioned in the filings. Lawyers representing the conservative groups said that they don’t have to prove why the activity took place. (Previous critics and even some in Congress have claimed IRS officials were trying to slow down conservative fundraising to help President Obama win re-election.)
The new accusations counter previous IRS claims that agents did not consider political beliefs when slowing down tax-exempt applications from right-leaning groups in the months leading up to the 2012 presidential election.
The IRS had instead argued that it was merely monitoring whether the groups were conducting more political activity than was allowed.
The filings by conservative groups suing the IRS also state the agency continued the practice after IRS officials said it had stopped in 2011.
That accused discrimination then continued as the IRS and Treasury Department conducted an internal investigation into the practice, the documents state.
No motive for the potential discrimination was mentioned in the filings. Lawyers representing the conservative groups said that they don’t have to prove why the activity took place. (Previous critics and even some in Congress have claimed IRS officials were trying to slow down conservative fundraising to help President Obama win re-election.)