crats tried to enlist IRS to attack conservative non-profits // (John Hinderaker).

The Daily Signal reports a production of correspondence between Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (one of the most vicious members the Democratic Party) and the IRS

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) called for the revocation of a tax exemption for a conservative organization for not masking up or social distancing during pandemic. He also demanded a series of investigations into other conservative groups and for the Internal Revenue Service’s expansion. ***

Whitehouse wrote to Charles Rettig, IRS Commissioner, Jan. 19, 2021 asking him to cancel Turning Point USA’s tax-exempt status because Turning Point USA held an event at the Mar-a-Lago club of then-President Donald Trump without concealing or social distancing.

Even if you consider the fact that social distancing and masking have little or no value, these actions do not affect an organization’s tax-exempt status. Local authorities can enforce local health-related ordinances if there is a violation. The IRS has no role in this matter.

Whitehouse wrote to the IRS chief, “Tax exempt status provides a substantial advantage to charitable organizations and reflects federal government endorsement of an organization’s activities.” “Organizations that put in danger minors entrusted into their care should not be granted tax-exempt status. I urge the IRS, therefore, to reconsider whether Turning Point USA should be tax-exempt.

Whitehouse may not be the brightest bulb on Christmas tree, but is he really that ignorant? Tax exempt status doesn’t “reflect the federal government endorsement of an organization’s activities.” The federal governments are not in the business to endorse charitable organizations’ efforts. Many charitable organizations pursue diametrically opposing goals, making it difficult to “endorse both” their activities.

Whitehouse’s correspondence to the IRS as a whole “makes it very obvious that a U.S senator is trying to essentially encourage IRS to investigate his political enemies,” as Tom Jones, American Accountability Foundation, put it.

The good news is that Whitehouse’s attempt to reduce the power of government on conservatives has been resisted by the IRS. Whitehouse and other Democrats asked the IRS commissioner to refuse cooperation with other agencies when it sought to investigate violations of Republican campaign finance laws.

The IRS has not been authorized by Congress to enforce campaign finance laws. Section 6103 of Code restricts the IRS’s ability share tax information with federal agencies. The IRS cannot reveal the names or addresses of significant contributors to federal agencies for non-tax investigations including campaign finance matters, unless it is required by law. Unauthorized disclosures could lead to civil or criminal liability.

This is encouraging. But, I think everyone agrees that the Democrats desire to hire 87,000 IRS agents is driven by their intent to weaken conservative nonprofits by tying them up in tax investigations.