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The Justice Department settled two class action lawsuits with Tea Party groups over the IRS effort to inhibit approval of their tax-exempt applications during the Obama administration.
The Daily Caller reports:
The DOJ reached an undisclosed monetary settlement with over 400 conservative groups that had their applications for tax exempt status delayed “based solely on their viewpoint or ideology,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday.
“The [Internal Revenue Service]’s use of these criteria as a basis for heightened scrutiny was wrong and should never have occurred,” Sessions said in a statement Thursday. “It is improper for the IRS to single out groups for different treatment based on their names or ideological positions.”
The Trump administration reached a settlement in two separate cases, one including 41 groups and another filed by 428 plaintiffs.
As part of the settlement, the IRS admitted its actions were wrong and the agency apologized for its effort to slow down the approval process for the Tea Party groups.
Also, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is leaving the agency mid-November.
The Daily Caller reports:
Koskinen’s term ends on Nov. 12. He was eligible for reappointment, but Koskinen is fiercely opposed by congressional Republicans. Members of the House Freedom Caucus attempted but failed to impeach Koskinen last year, largely over his handling of the scandal involving former IRS official Lois Lerner.
