The Obama administration is refusing to publicly release more than 500 documents on the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party groups.
Twenty months after the IRS scandal broke, there are still many unanswered questions about who was spearheading the agency’s scrutiny of conservative-leaning organizations.
The Hill sought access to government documents that might provide a glimpse of the decision-making through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The Hill asked for 2013 emails and other correspondence between the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The request specifically sought emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner and Treasury officials, including Secretary Jack Lew, while the inspector general was working on its explosive May 2013 report that the IRS used “inappropriate criteria” to review the political activities of tax-exempt groups.
TIGTA opted not to release any of the 512 documents covered by the request, citing various exemptions in the law. The Hill recently appealed the FOIA decision, but TIGTA denied the appeal. TIGTA also declined to comment for this article.
More at The Hill
As I’ve said here- delay and obfuscation are not exoneration
There are numerous exclusions to what must be made available for public examination under the Freedom of Information Act. Wikipedia presents the list of exclusions here. If you prefer to view them in the context of the U.S. Code itself, Section 552 can be found online here. You’ll need to scroll about two-thirds of the way down the page to find the same list.
If you request such items under the Freedom of Information Act, you can expect a refusal. If you appeal that refusal, and the court determines that you’re requesting items which specifically aren’t required to be made public, you can expect the original refusal to be upheld.
The Hill should consider talking to Judicial Watch.
IRS Cover-Up Expands to Justice Department