Lindsey Graham: 'No Evidence' White House Directed IRS To Target Conservatives

Discussion in 'Current Events' started by Agent_286, Jun 4, 2013.

  1. Agent_286

    Agent_286 New Member

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    Lindsey Graham: 'No Evidence' White House Directed IRS To Target Conservatives

    Huffington Post | By Sabrina Siddiqui | 06/03/2013 7:18 pm EDT
    Excerpts:

    “Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday became the latest Republican to reject Darrell Issa's comments that White House press secretary Jay Carney is a "paid liar" in relation to the IRS controversy.

    But Graham went further than his Republican colleagues, saying there's no evidence that the White House ordered the tax agency to target conservative groups.

    During an interview with "Kilmeade and Friends" on Fox News Radio, Graham said Issa, a California Republican, was a key player in investigating the matter as the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. But, he conceded, "you can go too far" with personal allegations.

    "Let's not make it personal. Jay Carney is not the issue here. He's the spokesman for the White House," Graham told host Brian Kilmeade, adding that it "never helps" to resort to personal name-calling.

    On Sunday, Issa accused the White House of ordering the IRS to target conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status in 2012, even though a 48-page report by the IRS Inspector General and testimony from multiple IRS officials cleared the White House of any involvement. Issa has nonetheless insisted IRS agents were being "ordered from Washington."

    He specifically directed his criticism at Carney, who has maintained the administration played no role in the targeting and only learned of the matter once an investigation was complete.

    "Their paid liar, their spokesperson - picture behind - he’s still making up things about what happens and calling this a local rogue," Issa said on CNN's "State of the Union."

    Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also pushed back on Issa's "liar" charge during a TV appearance Monday morning. But Graham took things a step further and disagreed with Issa that there was any conclusive evidence linking the Obama administration directly to the tax agency's actions.

    "At the end of the day, the IRS scandal really is scary. How would you like your own government to turn on you?" Graham said. "I don't believe this was something thought up in the Cincinnati office, but I have no evidence that goes to the White House."

    "I don't think it was a localized issue. I think it was a coordinated effort by some people to silence conservative critics of the president," he added. "That's pretty clear. How far it went, we don't know."

    The South Carolina senator said Issa should focus instead on continuing to hold congressional hearings and calling back witnesses, including IRS official Lois Lerner, who invoked her Fifth Amendment rights not to answer questions.

    "Just keep doing what you're doing, Darrell," Graham said. "Just plod through this. Keep calling people … put the puzzle together and let the American people make their own judgement."

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/03/lindsey-graham-irs_n_3379066.html
    ........

    IMO: It is clear that McCain and Graham are distancing themselves from Darrell Issa now that all allegation have been proven to be just an attempt to get evidence for manufacturing a big scandal totally initiated by Issa to bring disrepute to the White House, the President, and bringing the tragedy of Benghazi into a disgusting display of political gamesmanship to try to stonewall Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for the 2016 elections.

    Never before has there been such revolting behavior by a government official using his office to go “phishing” for a scandal to lay on the administration in power instead of doing the work of running the government, passing bills to give the middle class and working poor more representation in government,

    Having found no evidence of any wrongdoing in none of the 3 contrived, coordinated “scandals,” the rancid republicans are beginning to swing in the wind and Darrell Issa may be the scapegoat the republicans have picked to explain this extremely biased, lying, revolting attack against President Obama and Hillary Clinton. And that is the real scandal!!!

    Graham’s last advice to Issa was definite evidence that his department had no proof of anything, but took the legislature’s time, patience and funds to blatantly try to find out anything they could to attach a “scandal” on to.

    Finding nothing, Graham and McCain are now starting the road back to political sanity by pilloring Issa as their scapegoat to take blame for everything.

    The whole republican party is to blame for this ludicrous attempt to cast stones at innocent people, and the disgusting manner in which they did it deserves impeachment of all the guilty.
     
  2. sec

    sec Well-Known Member

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    at this time there is no evidence linking the WH to the scandal; at this time. That is correct.

    How is this even newsworthy other than to try and spin attention away from the travesty? A complete investigation must be conducted and follow leads where ever they take them.
     
  3. TomFitz

    TomFitz Well-Known Member

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    You must have been asleep throughout the 1990's.

    That's just about all the Republicans did back then, other than shut down the government in a hostage taking attempt.

    It's groundhog day!
     
  4. Ex-lib

    Ex-lib Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    So?

    :)

    By the way, the Huffington Post lies to you a lot, and you don't know that, do you?
     
  5. Radio Refugee

    Radio Refugee New Member

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    Another POS RINO that needs to go in a primary.
     
  6. Ex-lib

    Ex-lib Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It wasn't nearly this bad. And if you don't know that, you're in denial.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Well, he's right so far. But yes, I'd throw everyone out but the Tea Partiers and maybe even a couple of them.
     
  7. Karma Mechanic

    Karma Mechanic Well-Known Member

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    Please post your evidence of lies at the Huffington Post.... Let's say 3 or 4 in the last month if it is a lot.

    If you can't find them please apologize for your silliness.
     
  8. CRUE CAB

    CRUE CAB New Member

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    Keep everyone on the same lie as long as possible, and the "evidence" will never come to light.
    Or, three men can keep a secret. As long as two are dead.
     
  9. Serlak2007

    Serlak2007 Well-Known Member

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    Facts again get in a way of a very good story... Damn you Facts!!!!
     
  10. TomFitz

    TomFitz Well-Known Member

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    I'm OK with that.

    Actually, as some liberals have pointed out, the real scandal is that a lot of these groups were allowed to use this law to launder secret contributions in the first place.

    I don't approve of targeting anyone over political views.

    But I do think that deliberate efforts to hide campaign contribution and play "man behind the curtain" as conservative groups were encouraged to do in 2010 and liberals subsequently followed, needs to be stopped.

    And if the IRS chose poltical views over secrecy as their screening mechanizm, we do need to know way and who.

    But I suspect that the GOP may not really want this to go too far, particulalry if it doesn't point right at the president.

    Because if it doesn't , it's going ot wind up pointing at the shady practices that were promoted on a wholesale basis by conservative DC political operatives when the tea party boom was in its infancy. A lot of this has been documented ancedotally.

    We already know that htey encouraged tea party groups to apply for 501c4 status. The sole purpose of doing that was so they could claim that they are grass roots while being financed by K Steet lawyers and oil companies without the rubes finding out. They did other things, like teach people how to crash public meeings, jam phone banks, and other dirty tricks of the trade.
     
  11. Karma Mechanic

    Karma Mechanic Well-Known Member

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    I love how the right wingers have a party orthodoxy that they want to get rid of anyone who doesn't follow it. Even when they are 100% correct. Graham was responding to what Issa said and called Issa a liar. Which he was. So are those right wingers saying that they don't want members who speak the truth?
     
  12. cupid dave

    cupid dave Well-Known Member

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    It doesn't matter since it is the Marxism of the Public Unions which will do this whether the Whiehouse turns a blind eye or not.

    We have a giant body of workers whose paycheck we pay with Taxes.
    They now are unionized, and they vote democrats into office because they will sit across the table in Union Negotiations and raise their benefits.

    The incentive of money is never going to e replaced by a Republican in the white house.
    Every Public Union will work to get politicians who KNOW it was they who placed them in office, while they do this by contributions and things like harassing the supporters of the other side.
     
  13. Phoebe Bump

    Phoebe Bump New Member

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    What, you can't be a critic of the president without having tax exempt status??? You are effectively silenced if you're not a 501(c)(4)? I wonder if the founding fathers had their tax exemptions all in a row before they criticized George 3. Man up, Lindsey.

    - - - Updated - - -

    That's what I said about the 9/11 investigation but, alas, it was not to be.
     
  14. Mac-7

    Mac-7 Banned

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    Graham and McCain?

    They will do anything for media attention.

    Issa is gathering the evidence clowns on both sides of the isle are demanding to see.
     
  15. Zxereus

    Zxereus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It doesn't matter to me whether this scandal, and that's exactly what this is, goes all the way to the white house or not.
    All's that really matters is, is that the IRS themselves admit (which they have) that their actions were inappropriate.
     
  16. paco

    paco New Member

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    It's a blog, not a news publication. Certainly, that should be your first sign of evidence.
     
  17. Zxereus

    Zxereus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    By the way, why did the OP need to have seperate threads for Graham and McCain when one thread would suffice?
     
  18. Pennywise

    Pennywise Banned

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    HuffPo and Soros pay by the bandwith.
     
  19. HB Surfer

    HB Surfer Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I'll give everyone evidence.

    Barack Obama Campaign: Stephanie Cutter (Deputy Campaign Manager for President Barack Obama's 2012)

    This lying (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) was on the Sunday talk show circuit this week. She is the one responsible for the ad attempt to link Mitt Romney to murder... falsely as everyone learned later. She is a dirty (*)(*)(*)(*)(*).

    She stated that she was in the meetings with President Barack Obama and the Head of the IRS Shulman.

    Why the hell does Barack Obama has a purely political person in the room while he is meeting with the IRS Boss, Doug Shulman? What possible reason?

    How did everyone overlook that fact? Where is our press to go after her? Why is she not sitting in front of Congress right now?

    We have the Obama Administration using the IRS for political tyranny against its opponents.
     
  20. Bluesguy

    Bluesguy Well-Known Member Donor

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    Yet, we don't know how high the "direction" went. We do know the WH knew about it. Both the Presidents legal counsel and his chief of staff knew about it.

    Excerpts:

    At this time, we don't know how high up it went. Are you claiming that we know conclusively it was not the White House? That would be a totally specious statement.

    The inspector general did not clear the WH he didn't clear anyone that was not his job. It was an audit NOT an investigation.


    Yep, we don't know yet.

    Why do you specious act as if there have been full investigations when there have not been any.

    Tell me who ordered all the agencies to engage in their abuse of the these groups? You don't know therefore you cannot rule out anyone at this point.
     
  21. TomFitz

    TomFitz Well-Known Member

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    That was a pretty tedious non sequiter!
     
  22. TomFitz

    TomFitz Well-Known Member

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    This is a right wing talking point.

    It's obviously false, and has not basis at all.

    Yet it is routinely parroted by many right wingers here.

    I've chanllenged several of them over it. They always run away.
     
  23. Bluesguy

    Bluesguy Well-Known Member Donor

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    They weren't under the 501c regulations they were free to do what they wanted. The regulations ONLY APPLY AFTER YOU RECEIVE THE STATUS.

    Then you should be calling for a full investigation so we find out EXACTLY how this happened in the first place, who ordered it and who was complicit in it. Then those people at the least should be fired and then face possible criminal prosecutions.

    Then the IRS can explain why these groups received and still have 501c status

    Americans United for Change
    Americans United for Change enjoys 501(c)4 tax-exempt status. The organization exists, according to its own website, “to amplify the progressive message--to contribute to a grass roots groundswell for progressive policies. Progressives need to redefine ‘common sense’--by reasserting the primacy of the traditional progressive values that resonate with most Americans.”
    The group spent $4.7 million in 2009 “redefining” common sense and, according to their IRS form 990, on “advocacy and education about public policy issues.” Americans United for Change directly engaged Republican senators facing reelection in 2008, running television advertisements against them. Naturally, no Democrat complained. Nor did the IRS revoke its 501(c) status.

    Ruckus Society
    The Ruckus Society (photo above) is part of the Occupy Movement--and donations to this 501(c)3 organization are tax deductible. The George Soros-funded organization’s purpose reads like a parody of the modern Left.
    The Ruckus Society provides environmental, human rights, and social justice organizers with the tools, training, and support needed to achieve their goals through the strategic use of creative, nonviolent direct action.
    Ruckus also evidently organizes criminal trespass:
    The Brass Liberation Orchestra accompanied a second round of the “I Will Survive…Capitalism” flashmob before leading the crowd of over 1,000 people onto the Bank of America, and deployed a giant balloon banner with our friends at [Rainforest Action Network] reading “Defend Human Dignity: Challenge Corporate Power”...The day of course culminated in the truly mass marches to the Port of Oakland to shut down all operations at the Ports for the night. Some reports say 50,000 people marched and danced the three miles to the ports from Camp, and it was truly an unforgettable experience, marching in a sea of thousands at sunset.
    None of this seems to attract any IRS attention. Ruckus's 2011 IRS Form 990 indicates that it has maintained undisturbed 501(c)3 status. The form states Ruckus “provides environmental, human rights, and social justice organizers with the tools, training and support needed to achieve their goals.”
    The Ruckus training offers the manual “Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution” and provides suggestions for direct action such as “take over intersections and use for community activities,” give “fake parking tickets on SUV’s,” “Occupy Bank Foreclosed Homes,” and “rip out rancher’s fences” to free livestock.
    Planning illegal acts is incompatible with 501(c)3 status. Ruckus is run by Megan Swoboda.

    Women’s Action for New Directions
    Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) is another leftist organization funded by George Soros that engages in activity designed to transform politics and America. It dates back to the era when the KGB was funding anti-nuclear movements in the West, and was involved in the effort to block installation of Pershing II missiles in West Germany. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the organization continued to oppose America’s national defense.WAND enjoys 501(c)4 tax-exempt status. The organization also boasts a “Students Action Network for New Directions” that encourages leftist students “to become politically active, to vote, and to network with other WAND members.”
    Despite the overt political mission and anti-defense militancy, the 990 Forms submitted by WAND to the IRS whitewash their mission in one short sentence: "Empowering women to stop violence through the legislature."

    New World Foundation
    The New World Foundation, like so many others, uses the money from industrialists who built America to help reduce America. Cyrus McCormick’s daughter formed the NWF to help transform the world, starting with America. The foundation enjoys 501(c)3 tax exempt status and exists, according to its IRS Form 990, to support “community activists across America and around the world.”
    The IRS Form 990 also states that the NWF seek to “build stronger alliances for social justice, environmental justice...while encouraging democratic participation to achieve real and lasting [sic].” The form details the mission of “mobilizing of the least enfranchised in working class and people of color communities.”
    In 2010, NWF spent over $15 million. It funnels money to a variety of activist leftist groups like the Coal River Mountain Watch, Colorado Progressive Action and National Peoples Action.

    Fierce
    Fierce is a New York-based organization that employs the Saul Alinsky organizing model toward activist gay issues. Its website unapologetically proclaims that it is “building the leadership and power of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color,” and “We develop politically conscious leaders.”
    Looking toward the future, as always, “FIERCE is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of social justice movement leaders who are dedicated to ending all forms of oppression.” This unapologetic political mission is also included in the IRS Form 990 submitted by Fierce, so it should not surprise the IRS.
    Fierce also provides a chart showing its organizing model is dedicated first to “Build our Power,” then “Exercise our Power,” and finally “Sustain our Power.”
    Fierce! has 501(c)3 status, making contributions to the overtly political organization tax deductible. Last tax year it spent $529,713 on stipends for activists, travel and other expenses.

    Black Alliance for Just Immigration
    The Black Alliance for Just Immigration enjoys 501(c)3 status. The organization “advocates for administrative changes to visa, detention and deportation regulations” according to the IRS Form 990 it filed with the IRS.
    For whom does it advocate these changes? The Black Alliance webpage states:
    Historically and currently, U.S. immigration policy has been infused with racism, enforcing unequal and punitive standards for immigrants of color. African Americans, with our history of being economically exploited, marginalized and discriminated against, have much in common with people of color who migrate to the United States, documented and undocumented.
    Executive Director Gerald Lenoir told me by telephone that the IRS has never questioned the tax status of the organization. After providing this information, Mr. Lenoir also asked: “is Breitbart a progressive news publication?”

    Brennan Center for Justice
    Few organizations have worn nonpartisan sheep’s clothing while behaving like a partisan wolf better than the Brennan Center for Justice. Enjoying 501(c)3 status, the Brennan Center’s stated mission on its IRS Form 990 barely scratches the surface. They merely “focus on fundamental issues of democracy and justice,” they claim. The Brennan Center also told the IRS that it is engaged in “the study and solving of intractable problems of social justice and implementing those solutions by coordinating strategies.”
    What Brennan didn’t tell the IRS was that those “coordinating strategies” involved bare-knuckle attacks on election integrity laws around the country. The IRS probably doesn’t know that Brennan is hip deep in the effort to derail public policies such as photo voter identification laws. Both the effort and the results of the effort are bathed in politics.
    Brennan’s executive director Michael Waldman isn’t above publishing outright falsehoods or phony social science data about election integrity measures in order to advance the group's agenda and enable voter fraud.

    Voto Latino
    Voto Latino is dedicated to mobilizing Hispanic voters into powerful political coalitions. It also enjoys 501(c)3tax exempt status.
    The group holds an annual “Power Summit.” The April 2013 Power Summit included panels entitled “Activism Everyday--I’m Hustling,” “We Voted, Now What?,” “How to Run for Office,” and “Field Operations for Beginners.”
    Voto Latino also has a webpage dedicated to the 2012 Democratic National Convention (click while it still exists).
    Some on the left are defending the IRS attacks on the Tea Party by falsely claiming the Tea Party is a political organization. These charges sound like projection when considering the descriptions of Voto Latino on itsown webpage:
    “We firmly believe that the quality of our future depends on our ability to mobilize and vote....Texas and Florida, two states with the largest Latino populations, passed restrictive voting laws that intimidate people from going to the polls. There's never been a more pivotal time for us to flex our collective power and move our country forward. Despite our economic difficulties and educational needs, Latinos profoundly believe in America....The quality of our future depends on our ability to mobilize today.”
    When contacted, a representative at Voto Latino told me its IRS 501(c)3 tax status had never been challenged. Voto Latino receives money from the Soros-affiliated Open Society Foundations.
    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Govern...IRS-Tax-Exempt-Status-While-Tea-Party-Suffers
     
  24. RP12

    RP12 Well-Known Member

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    "but I have no evidence " is not the same as there is no evidence. Another lying thread title. Your desperation is showing.
     
  25. TomFitz

    TomFitz Well-Known Member

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    I seem to recall a small matter of an impeachment over a lie about a blowjob. That was after five years of special prosecutors running around trying to make something out of Whitewater and Jennifer Flowers (who got forgotten and left with her legal bills once the GOP couldn't make that one stick).
     

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