Lois Lerner’s personal political views directly resulted in tea party and conservative non-profits receiving disparate and unfair treatment according to a report compiled by the Senate Finance Committee.
Following a review of approximately 1,500,000 pages produced by the IRS, the Finance Committee concluded that Lerner’s was a staunch supporter of Democrat policies and held disdain for conservative values. These personal political views resulted in disparate treatment of conservative organizations, even when members of Congress inquired on behalf of an organization. As the report notes:
“We found evidence that Lerner’s personal political views directly resulted in disparate treatment for applicants affiliated with Tea Party and other conservative causes… Lerner showed little concern for conservative applicants, even when members of Congress inquired on their behalf, allowing them to languish in the IRS bureaucracy for as long as two years with little or no action.”
As the report notes, Lois Lerner’s position as senior executive in charge of Exempt Organizations (EO) gave her tremendous power over the ability of taxpayers to exercise political speech:
“By virtue of her position, Lerner had the potential to exert tremendous power over many taxpayers who sought to exercise their right to political speech.”
Lerner’s views resulted in the IRS delaying conservative group’s applicants and subjecting them to unfair audits. In contrast, progressive nonprofits received quick approval when applying for non-profit status. As the report notes:
“Her influence led not only to indefinite delays in the processing of these groups’ applications for tax-exempt status, but also to audits. During that same time, the IRS generally responded quickly and favorably to nonprofit organizations that were affiliated with progressive causes or politicians.”