Conservative Musings

Our goal is to have intelligent discussion of the topics of the day. We realize everyone has their opinion and they should be allowed to express it in a discussion forum without calling each other names. We learn from discussion and not from name calling or argument.We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. See details

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Holder Approved Rosen Search

Ryan J. Reilly Become a fan

ryan.reilly@huffingtonpost.com

Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on the decision to seek the personal emails of a Fox News reporter by suggesting he was a "co-conspirator" in a criminal leak case, the Department of Justice confirmed in a statement on Friday.

The department "took great care in deciding that a search warrant was necessary in the Kim matter, vetting the decision at the highest levels of the Department, including discussions with the Attorney General," the DOJ said in a statement about the search warrant seeking James Rosen's emails.

The government is prosecuting Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a former State Department official who is accused of giving Rosen, a reporter for Fox, classified information. TheDOJ treated Rosen as a "co-conspirator" and told a judge it was considering charges against him in an effort to get his emails.

"After extensive deliberations, and after following all applicable laws, regulations and policies, the Department sought an appropriately tailored search warrant under the Privacy Protection Act. And a federal magistrate judge made an independent finding that probable cause existed to approve the search warrant," the statement on Friday said.

NBC first reported Holder's involvement on Thursday, the same day President Barack Obama told Holder to review DOJ policies on investigating journalists in consultation with media organizations. Holder will report back to Obama by July 12.

DOJ has said it does not anticipate filing any charges against Rosen.

The full DOJ statement:

“The Department takes seriously the First Amendment right to freedom of the press. In recognition of this, the Department took great care in deciding that a search warrant was necessary in the Kim matter, vetting the decision at the highest levels of the Department, including discussions with the Attorney General. After extensive deliberations, and after following all applicable laws, regulations and policies, the Department sought an appropriately tailored search warrant under the Privacy Protection Act. And a federal magistrate judge made an independent finding that probable cause existed to approve the search warrant.”
“Attorney General Holder understands the concerns that have been raised by the media and has initiated a reevaluation of existing Department policies and procedures. This review will include extensive engagement with representatives of the media. The Department must strike the appropriate balance between its obligation to enforce the laws preventing leaks of classified information and First Amendment rights, and, through a new media shield law and appropriate updates to the Department’s internal guidelines, we are committed to achieving that balance.”

Mitchell: IRS Probe Far From Over

Cleta Mitchell: IRS Targeting of Conservatives Continues

Thursday, 23 May 2013 10:02 AM

By Jim Meyers

More . . .

A A |

Email Us |

Print |

Forward Article

inShare

Cleta Mitchell, one of Washington's most respected elections attorneys, has sent out a memorandum she says demonstrates that the Internal Revenue Service is seeking to mislead Congress and the public.

Mitchell represents several conservative groups that have been targeted for scrutiny by the IRS and is counsel to the organization True the Vote, which filed suit against the IRS on Tuesday.

She said in an email:

"I have been working for more than a year to get someone to pay attention to what I perceived to be serious problems within the IRS in terms of targeting conservative organizations.

"Despite the efforts of the House Ways & Means IRS Oversight Committee and the Senate Finance Committee inquiring of the IRS, we have now seen that the IRS was not truthful with Congress last year. It is important that we not allow the IRS dissemble, deny and obfuscate the facts.
"With the recent news that, indeed, such targeting was being employed by the IRS, I have been asked repeatedly to provide information to reporters, members of Congress, etc. I decided to put together something of a 'big picture' history overview of the reprehensible situation at the IRS."

Mitchell says she wants readers of her memo "to understand that this STILL going on! The IRS would have everyone believe that "all that was stopped in 2012." That is NOT true. Many, many organizations' applications are still locked within the IRS - attached is evidence of that.

"And most importantly," she adds, she wants readers to "know that this was not confined to a few 'low level' IRS employees in Cincinnati. That is not true. Attached is a letter I sent on Nov. 8, 2011 demonstrating that the orders were coming from Washington."

Below is the memorandum Mitchell sent to "interested parties."

After reviewing the TIGTA Report, numerous press reports and the hearing conducted on Friday, May 17, 2013 by the House Ways & Means Committee at which Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller testified, it is apparent that a brief history and overview might be of assistance to Members of Congress and members of the media — to place into context the manner in which the IRS processed applications for exempt status prior to 2010, what has transpired during this terrible targeting period, and some reactions to the statements and misstatements and misrepresentations of Acting Commissioner Miller last week.

1. Processing of Applications for Exempt Status Prior to 2010

My law practice is as an attorney who has practiced in the area of non-profits and exempt organizations for many years. In that regard, I am well familiar with the process of assisting clients to create nonprofit organizations which meet the needs of the activities in which the clients propose to engage.

The process essentially is as follows: a group of individuals determine the types of programs and activities in which they wish to become active and, from that, I advise them as to the type of nonprofit entity that would be appropriate for those activities.

Attached to this Memorandum is a chart of entities that I provide to clients, which describes the similarities and differences between/among the various types of nonprofit organizations.

A group seeking tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") submits the IRS Form 1023, which outlines the mission and exempt purpose of the organization and the types of activities and programs in which it intends to engage.

A group seeking tax exemption under Section 501(c)(4) (a social welfare / grassroots lobbying organization) or a 501(c)(6) (a business league, trade association) files a Form 1024, which outlines its mission and exempt purpose and the types of activities and programs in which it intends to engage.

Prior to 2010, the time frame for review and receipt of IRS tax exempt status would typically be three months to one year for a 501(c)(3) organization and 3 to 6 months for a 501(c)(4) or (c)(6) organization.

Below is a sample of some of my clients' applications for exempt status and the processing time prior to 2010, when the IRS instituted its targeting program. The dates below provide a sense of the efficiencies of the IRS in reviewing and acting upon applications before the agency decided to inflict massive paperwork burdens on conservative applicants in 2010.

Client #1: For a client seeking 501(c)(3) exemption, the application was filed on or about May 16, 2009. A letter was received on June 8, 2009 from the IRS seeking additional information.

The response was submitted on June 29, 2009 and the letter of determination of exempt status was issued on July 15, 2009.

Client #2: For a 501(c)(4), application filed on October 5, 2007, and a letter of recognition issued on November 16, 2007.

Client #3: For a 501(c)(4) application fi ed on September 23, 2009, the letter of determination was issued on November 22, 2009.

Client #4: For a 501(c)(6) application filed on October 29, 2010, the letter of determination was issued on February 1, 2011.

Client #5: For a 501(c)(3) application filed on April 9, 2008, a letter requesting additional information was received on September 25, 2008. A response was filed on October 27, 2008 and the letter of determination of exempt status was issued on December 4, 2008.

Client #6: For a 501(c)(4) application filed on August 23, 2007, a letter of determination was issued on September 14, 2007.

Client #7: For a 501(c)(4) application filed on May 19, 2004, a letter of determination was issued on June 23, 2004;

Client #8: For a 501(c)(4) application filed on December 12, 2007, a letter of determination was issued on February 27, 2008.

Client #9: For a 501(c)(4) application filed on July 30, 2009, a request for more information was sent by the IRS on December 11, 2009. A response was filed on February 17, 2010 and the letter of determination was issued in March 2010.

By way of example of the types of questions asked by the IRS prior to the tea party targeting program, the following is taken from the request for more information received from the IRS for a 501(c)(3) applicant in 2009:

Additional information requested:

To meet the organizational test for exemption under section 5011c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the organization's organizing document, Articles
of Incorporation, must be amended in the manner shown below:

Please replace all occurrences of "2004" with "1986" in Article 4.

Please replace "2004" with "501(c)(3)" and replace "501(c)(3)" with "1986" in Article 5.

a. Please contact the appropriate State agency to inquire about their amendment process. The organization may want to ask about any fees the State may require be attached to the amendment request.

b. Submit two copies of the amendment to the appropriate State official in the State in which the organization is incorporated, requesting one copy be returned to the organization when filed and approved by the State.

c. When the copy is returned, with evidence that the State has filed and approved it, send a copy to the Internal Revenue Service.

This amendment will need to be completed before exemption can be granted.

Note. If incorporated, this 501(c)(3) language must be contained in the Articles of Incorporation of the organization. The IRS cannot accept the language in the Bylaws or any other attachment.

Please use the specified language provided. If you make any deviations, please discuss them with the Service prior to amending.

The questions were answered and within a matter of weeks, the letter of determination was issued. This type of specific request for information directed to the applicant's submission was customary prior to the onset of the conservative targeting by the IRS in 2010.

The IRS Internal Changes in 2010.

It became apparent during the course of 2010 that the IRS had changed its system for reviewing and processing applications for 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) recognition. The timeline for some of the clients I currently represent demonstrates that the IRS is STILL holding up the applications for exempt status recognition of dozens — if not hundreds — of conservative organizations.

Attached are examples from 4 organizations' letters received from the IRS more than a year ago.

Only one of the referenced organizations has received its letter of exempt status. All the others are still pending.

In fact, two of the organizations have been required to respond to another round of extensive questions in the fall of 2012, with no letters of determination yet received.

See Attachments #2 through #5, Organization #1, #2, #3, #4 letters from the IRS. With regard to Organization #4, note the letter I sent to the IRS (to the Washington, DC office) in June 2011. After filing the application in 2009, sending the letter in 2011 and the response to the exhaustive questions in 2012, the organization has yet to receive its recognition of exempt status.

3. Response to statements by the IRS / Acting Commissioner Steven Miller during the week of May 13, 2013.

* "The problems were resolved last year."

THIS PROBLEM IS CONTINUING. It has not been "resolved" as stated by Acting Commission Miller. It is not in the past tense. Many organizations are still awaiting responses from the IRS. What systemic changes have been put in place to ensure that the odious questions have been terminated and the applications are being processed in accordance with the historic legal standard of review rather than the unlawful intrusion into the internal workings of these conservative citizens organizations?

* "Generally, 501(c) applications are centralized for review if there are indications in the application that the organization may engage in political campaign intervention, lobbying or advocacy. This was done to sure that the legal requirements related to these applications are applied in a fair and consistent manner."

This was never done prior to 2010. The Acting Commissioner is not being truthful. These temis "political campaign intervention, lobbying or advocacy" are legal terms of art and subject to years of regulations, standards of review, cases and interpretation.

During and after 2010, the only 'centralization' that occurred was that involving conservative organizations seeking 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) recognition.

The ternis have legal meaning and should not have been treated in the subjective manner in which the IRS considered these applications. Here is a short overview of the differences in the terms. They are not interchangeable as the Acting Commissioner has suggested.

1. Advocacy. No legal definition and NO prohibition in Internal Revenue Code. All groups advocate in some way or another for their mission. Totally permissible for ALL exempt organizations.

2. Lobbying. IRC defines it as an expenditure to influence legislation. A c4 is permitted to spend 100 % of its funds on lobbying. A c3 is permitted to spend a portion of its funds on lobbying. In other words, lobbying is a legally permissible activity for both types of entities, just allowable in differing amounts. Most of the tea party organizations were seeking to engage in lobbing activities that are completely permissible for a c4 organization. So why were they subject to this extra scrutiny?

3. Political. IRC does not define "political" as such. The IRC definition refers to an expenditure for "partisan campaign intervention". A c4 CAN make such expenditures as long as it is NOT a majority of its expenditures in any fiscal/calendar year. In other words, it is legally permissible for a c4 to make political expenditures as long as those expenditures are a) not a majority of its program expenditures and b) the c4 reports and pays taxes on its political expenditures. Only a 501(c)(3) is prohibited from making expenditures for partisan campaign intervention. Virtually all of the organizations targeted were seeking 501(c)(4) status, which permits them to engage in some degree of political campaign activity.

To have singled out these groups was to try to keep them from engaging in legally permissible political speech and association, in violation of the First Amendment. And it is continuing.

* "I think that what happened here was that foolish mistakes were made by people who were trying to be more efficient in their workload selection" So the decision to change a system that (prior to 2010) might ask 5 to 6 short questions specifically about an application to one that consisted of dozens of questions, necessitating volumes of materials and documents to be filed with the IRS was done in order to 'be more efficient'? Acting Commissioner Miller also spoke about IRS employees 'taking shortcuts.'

This was hardly a 'shortcut' when it lengthened the process substantially, as documented in the TIGTA Report.

* The agency pinpointed two "rogue" employees in the Cincinnati IRS office as being responsible for "overly aggressive" handling of tea party requests for tax-exempt status over the past two years.

This is completely false. In 2011, at least one of the Cincinnati IRS agents assigned to handle two clients' applications advised me that the Washington, DC office was actively involved in the decisions and processing of my clients' applications for exempt status. This was memorialized in a letter to the agent, Ron Bell, on November 8, 2011. When I called him in December 2011 for an update, he advised me that the applications had been transferred to a special task force in

Washington, DC for further review. The effort by senior IRS officials to lay this scheme at the hands of a few low level' IRS employees is despicable and must not be tolerated.

Attachment # 6 — November 8, 2011 Letter to IRS Agent Ron Bell in Cincinnati.

Conclusion.

There is much work remaining to be done to ascertain the truth of this matter. The IRS leadership continues to dissemble, deny and obfuscate.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/cleta-mitchell-irs-targeting/2013/05/23/id/506033?s=al&promo_code=13A01-1#ixzz2ULdPUacf
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!

Justice Wanted Rosen Be Kept In Dark

DOJ Begged Judge to Keep Fox Reporter in Dark About Monitoring

Friday, 24 May 2013 09:19 PM

By Todd Beamon

More . . .

A A |

Email Us |

Print |

Forward Article

inShare

The Justice Department begged a federal judge to not tell Fox News reporter James Rosen that it was tracking his telephone calls and emails in a probe regarding a national security leak.

U.S. Attorney Ron Machen argued in 2010 that the traditional 30-day notice period did not apply to Rosen as Justice secretly monitored his Gmail account, according to new exhibits unsealed this week and disclosed by The Hill.

“Where, as here, the government seeks such contents through a search warrant, no notice to the subscriber or customer of the e-mail account is statutorily required or necessary,” Machen wrote in a June 2010 motion. “Thus, this court's indication on the face of the warrant that delayed notice of 30 days to the customer and subscriber was permissible was unnecessary.”

Machen, through another request granted by the court, stopped Google from telling Rosen that Justice was spying on his e-mail account, the Hill reports.

The prosecutor had demanded to see all of Rosen’s emails — including deleted messages, emails in his trash folder and all attachments sent to and from him.

The original warrant in the Rosen case was signed personally by Attorney General Eric Holder, NBC News reported this week.

Meanwhile, Fox News President Roger Ailes on Thursday blasted Justice for targeting journalists as if they were criminals and said the government's seizure of reporters' emails and phone records would not stand "the test of law."

“The administration’s attempt to intimidate Fox News and its employees will not succeed and their excuses will stand neither the test of law, the test of decency, nor the test of time,” Ailes said. “We will not allow a climate of press intimidation, unseen since the McCarthy era, to frighten any of us away from the truth.”

President Barack Obama on Thursday asked Holder to review Justice’s guidelines on leak investigations and news organizations. Holder promised a report by July 12, the Hill reports.

Reports of the FBI's tracking of Rosen's movements, phone, and email conversations with a former State Department contractor — Stephen Jin-Woo Kim — followed the disclosure last week that phone records of editors and reporters at The Associated Press had been secretly seized by Justice in another probe of leaked government information.

But unlike the AP reporters, Rosen was named as a "co-conspirator" by FBI officials in the warrant signed by Holder.

© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/doj-fox-monitoring/2013/05/24/id/506349?s=al&promo_code=139FE-1#ixzz2ULPZtQf8
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!

Birds Of A Feather

Briad Corporation who owns the TGI Friday operations who were caught serving dirty water and rubbing alcohol as Scotch must be a slimy organization. Any company that is so devious and would take advantage of its patrons cannot be one with you would want to do business.

So as a lark, we checked the contributions of the CEO (Brad Honigfeld) of this venerable organization. Guess what? He personally contributes to Democratic party members like Chuck Schumer and John Lewis. He also did contribute to the Wendys Political Action which contributes to more Republicans than Democrats. However, it is telling where is personal contributions go, that speaks loudly.

Conservative Tom

Sources: http://www.campaignmoney.com/ceo.asp?pg=436
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/operation_swill_nj_officials_c.html
http://vote.sigfig.com/org/Wendy's%20Co/C00369090

Rubbing Alcohol as Scotch, Dirty Water Served in NJ Bars, Says Report

Funnels confiscated during an investigation dubbed "Operation Swill," in which 29 bars and restaurants in New Jersey are accused of putting cheap booze in premium brand liquor bottles and selling it, are displayed during a news conference on May 23 in Trenton, N.J.

Friday, 24 May 2013 12:54 PM

By Clyde Hughes

More . . .

A A |

Email Us |

Print |

Forward Article

inShare

New Jersey’s Operation Swill investigation, which claims that bars replaced premium liquor with cheap booze, got even more damning for bartenders and owners. Officials revealed Friday that some bars replaced scotch with rubbing alcohol and gave dirty waterto customers.

Investigators said one establishment used rubbing alcohol with caramel coloring and sold it as scotch. Another bar refilled premium liquor bottles with dirty water -- water that was not from the tap. State officials did not identify the establishments they allegedly caught.

Earlier this week, officials revealed 29 New Jersey bars and restaurants, including 13 TGI Fridays, that reportedly substituted cheap booze for the real stuff and charged premium prices.

As part of Operation Swill, investigators collected 1,000 open bottles of vodka, gin, rum, scotch, whiskey, and tequila from the wells of the bars, state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said.

“This alleged scheme is a dishonest ruse to increase profits and is a slap in the face of the consumer,” Chiesa said.

Blackthorn Irish Pub in Parsippany is one of the establishments officials raided and claimed bartenders replaced liquor. Brian Hertenstein, the eatery's general manager, denies the charges and believes they will be vindicated.

“It’s not true, and there were never any complaints from patrons,” Hertenstein told the Star-Ledeger. “I’m confident that it’ll come back and it’ll be proven we were pouring what’s on the label.”

Dan Arroyo, a manager at the pub, said three men and one woman arrived Wednesday morning, inspecting bottles and opening up liquor cabinets.

The officials told him they were sweeping restaurants in the area and that the Blackthorn wasn’t targeted.

“They said it was random,” Arroyo said.

Hertenstein, who has managed the Blackthorn for two years, said he didn’t know about the allegations until he read a news account.

“You spend two years of toil and sweat to build up an establishment, and then they make accusations like this before you can respond,” he said.

The investigation's findings shocked drink enthusiats like Justin Peters, a crime blogger for Slate.com.

“As an enthusiastic and frequent liquor drinker, this news struck fear into my pickled heart,” Peters said. “When I order a drink, I want to know that I'm being served drinking alcohol, not rubbing alcohol. If the bait-and-switch is happening in New Jersey, it’s happening elsewhere, too, quite possibly in the low joints where I spend an alarming amount of my time.”

Related stories:

TGI Fridays Top Shelf Liquor: Restaurants Accused of Refilling Bottles

© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/rubbing-alcohol-scotch-dirty/2013/05/24/id/506295?promo_code=13074-1&utm_source=13074The_hill&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1#ixzz2UKa83XxO
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!

Should Tea Party Sue IRS

Tea Party Groups Consider Suing IRS

Monday, 13 May 2013 04:14 PM

By Greg Richter

More . . .

A A |

Email Us |

Print |

Forward Article

inShare

Some tea party groups targeted for extra scrutiny by the IRS may sue the tax-collecting agency, especially if they are not granted tax-exempt status by Friday.

"We are looking at it pretty seriously," lawyer Dan Backer, who represents conservative groups targeted by the Internal Revenue Service, told Politico. Backer's clients include Combat Veterans Training Group and TheTeaParty.net.

The agency admitted on Friday that it had targeted groups with "conservative" and "tea party" in their names, among others. The groups were required to jump through more hoops than normal when applying for tax-exempt status. Some were asked to provide the names of their donors, a violation of normal IRS procedure.

A report set to be issued this week also says groups trying to make "America a better place to live" and those concerned with government spending and debt also were treated with extra scrutiny.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which represents 27 groups who say they were subjected to extra scrutiny, has demanded that the IRS approve its 10 remaining clients who are still awaiting tax-exempt status. The group set a Friday deadline, after which it said it will advise its clients of their right to seek damages.

Two of the group's clients have withdrawn their requests over frustration with the process, a statement from the ACLJ said.

The ACLJ sent a letter to Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller demanding that any employees who carried out or knew about the actions be disciplined.

© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/tea-party-irs-lawsuit/2013/05/13/id/504252?s=al&promo_code=137A6-1#ixzz2TJDrNzzC
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!

Benghazi Questions That Need Answering

A Shameless Bid To Hold The Reins Of Power

May 10, 2013 by Bob Livingston

UPI FILE

Four Americans died in the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The elected class and their media enablers are shameless in their desire to hold onto their reins of power.

During Wednesday’s hearings before a Congressional committee on the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attack, whistle-blowers Gregory Hicks, Mark Thompson and Eric Nordstrom described the events that took place in Benghazi on Sept. 11. It’s a far different tale from the “story” the Administration of President Barack Obama and its propaganda arm, the corporate mainstream media, told in the days following the attack.

It’s clear the Obama Administration and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were either incompetent in their handling of the events of that day or they made a conscious effort to let Ambassador Chris Stevens and the three other State Department employees die. It’s equally clear their initial story was a bald-faced lie, and they knew it was a lie as they told it.

It was election time, you see; and there was a narrative of Obama as a slayer of terrorists everywhere and defeater of al-Qaida that had to be maintained. And now, as the hearings showed, Democrats are more interested in covering for Obama and Clinton than they are in getting to the bottom of some of the important issues like:

Who were the attackers and their sponsors?
Was there warning of the impending attacks?
Was there adequate security?
Could the attacks have been prevented?
Could the State Department employees have been saved by a military intervention?
Was a response team ordered to stand down?
Why did it take so long for the investigative team to arrive?
Have the whistleblowers been threatened and/or punished?

One would like to think the voting public is closely following the Benghazi story through alternative media and sees through the veil the MSM has thrown over the whole affair as it works to cover for its two darlings: Obama and Clinton. But that’s probably too much to ask of the low-information voter occupied with celebrity worship, processed foods and [non]reality TV.

More IRS Abuses Coming

Republican lawmakers hear complaints about wider abuses from IRS

By Daniel Strauss - 05/25/13 06:00 AM ET

Several Republicans say their constituents have come to them with examples of Internal Revenue Service intimidation that goes beyond the agency's targeting of conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate say they’ve been told of other examples of bullying since the IRS apologized for targeting Tea Party groups.

“Oh, there's a slew of them,” said Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-Ohio), a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. He said several lawmakers on the panel had been given tips about over-aggressive actions by the IRS.

Tiberi is one of several lawmakers who went public this week with allegations of wider abuses by the IRS. He and the other officials acknowledged the complaints from their constituents could be true or false, and said that they intended to look into the matters.

"I'm certainly going to spend a lot of time looking into it,” said Sen. Tom Coburn, who heard complaints from constituents who claimed they were audited by the IRS after making substantial donations to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.

The complaints come amid a wide-ranging scandal at the IRS, where a government watchdog report found some conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status were subjected to broader scrutiny because of their politics. IRS officials subjected groups with the words “Tea Party,” for example, to heavier scrutiny.

The acting commissioner of the agency was forced to resign over the matter, and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has suggested criminal charges could be filed in the matter. The Department of Justice is conducting an investigation.

So far, there is no evidence that the IRS went after individual taxpayers because of their political beliefs, but several lawmakers say they’ve heard complaints.

In an interview with The Hill, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said his office had receiving an influx of stories about the IRS abusing its power. He said he'd just begun to review the claims.

“Well there are some really funny things that are going on,” Hatch said. “We're currently just looking at all of that. I mean look, let's face it, the agency is not exactly being run the way it should be run.”

Pressed for more details about the claims, lawmakers say they're in the early stages of actually investigating the stories. Hatch, who met with the new acting IRS commissioner this week, acknowledged his office gets a lot of complaints, some of which end up being good tips and some of which ending up being false.

“Yeah, we always get complaints,” Hatch said. “I mean some of which are good, some of which aren't.”

Republicans have urged constituents to come forward with examples of IRS abuse.

Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) office set up a web page encouraging constituents to come forward with examples of the IRS targeting Texans.

Drew Brandewie, communications director for Cornyn, says the response has been “alarming.”

“In the short time since it was launched, we’ve received nearly 60 stories of the IRS targeting Texans for their political beliefs, and it is not limited to just tea party members,” Brandewie said in an email to The Hill.

“Texans who have donated to conservative causes as far back as 2008 have told us they believe they’ve been targeted, citing excessive paperwork, lengthy interviews, intimidating communications from agents, and even audits of their small businesses. These include Texans who donated to Sarah Palin in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012, and to groups like Freedomworks and the Heritage Foundation.”

In an interview, Cornyn said some of the claims might not end up being true, but that they need to be investigated given the IRS’s acknowledged actions.

“Well, you never know,” Cornyn said. “Nobody likes the IRS and we all sort of gripe about them but I think now there's some legitimacy to some of the griping and it goes over and above the usual irritation.”

While both parties have criticized the IRS’s actions, it has mostly been Republicans reporting possible wider abuses.

Asked whether her office had received a wave of allegations of greater IRS abuse, Hannah Kim, communications director for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said: “Not that I know of,” in an email to The Hill.