Inspector General Confirms Improper Access of Political Donors’ Tax Records

Michael Cohn:

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is looking into findings from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration that the confidential tax records of political donors or candidates have been inappropriately accessed or disclosed in several instances since 2006 and asking why the Justice Department has declined to prosecute the perpetrators.

The inappropriate access most likely occurred at the IRS, Grassley’s office noted, but since TIGTA did not name the specific agency, another entity or entities, such as a state tax office with access to federal tax records, could be involved. TIGTA is withholding details of the agencies involved and the names of the candidates and donors because of taxpayer confidentiality laws.

The inspector general found one case of access “willful” and sought Justice Department prosecution, Grassley’s office noted, but the Justice Department declined to prosecute. Grassley is asking the Justice Department for an explanation of the decision not to prosecute.

“Any agency with access to tax records is required to act with neutrality and professionalism, not political bias,” he said in a statement. “The Justice Department should answer completely and not hide behind taxpayer confidentiality laws to avoid accountability for its decision not to prosecute a violation of taxpayer confidentiality laws. With the IRS on the hot seat over targeting certain political groups, it’s particularly troubling to learn about ‘willful unauthorized access’ of tax records involving individuals who were candidates for office or political donors. The public needs to know whether the decision not to prosecute these violations was politically motivated and whether the individuals responsible were held accountable in any other way.”

In his initial letter about the matter last month to TIGTA Inspector General J. Russell George, Grassley referred to an ABC News report that quoted several political donors who claimed they had been targeted, including Charlie Moncrief, a Texas oil executive who raised more than $1 million for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign; Frank VanderSloot, an Idaho businessman who also donated over $1 million to groups supporting Romney; Hal Scherz, a physician who started the group Docs4PatientCare to lobby against health care reform; and possibly even the Reverend Bill Graham, several of whose charitable organizations had been audited, according to his son Franklin.

In response to Grassley’s query about the number of instances in which TIGTA found evidence that the IRS targeted for audit any candidates for public office, George responded in a letter earlier this month, “We did not identify any closed cases from 2006 to the present involving allegations that the IRS targeted for audit candidates for public office. We are currently reviewing two allegations on this topic.”

Grassley also asked George the number of instances where TIGTA found evidence that the confidential tax records of any political donor or candidate for public office were inappropriately accessed by any IRS employee or other federal or state government officials.

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