Judge Declare IRS Partisan Hanky Panky "Lawful"

"Reprehensible but Lawful"

The House Ways and Means Committee is pushing for Attorney General Eric Holder to pursue a criminal case against Lerner, accusing her of misleading investigators and releasing private taxpayer information. Judge Andrew Napolitano reacted this afternoon, telling Bill Hemmer it is unlikely that Holder will follow through on any charges against Lerner.

"It'll be extremely unlikely that President Obama's own, handpicked, chosen, appointed attorney general, Eric Holder, would launch an investigation of his own handpicked, chosen management of the IRS over something as hot-button as this," said Napolitano, adding that the Obama administration controls "the engine of prosecution" needed to bring criminal charges against IRS officials.

He further explained why the investigation of the IRS scandal is "dead in the water." Napolitano pointed out that current law gives the IRS "broad leeway," paving the way for possible abuse by the executive branch. Napolitano said both Presidents Nixon and Obama have used the IRS against political opponents.

He said nothing will change until Congress has the "moral courage" to make the IRS totally neutral.

"Until they do that, this is gonna happen. And it's gonna happen depending upon the personal choices and morality of the president. This president is willing to abuse the IRS to torment his political opponents. It's reprehensible, but it's lawful," said Judge Napolitano.

I thought the Hatch Act forbade partisan activity in the Federal workplace.  Is the IRS exempt from that regulation, or is it OK if ordered from the top.  It was one of the counts that Richard Nixon was threatened impeachment for.  And he didn't succeed.

In another IRS office, more evidence of more "ordinary" forbidden partisan politics emerged:

Vote for Obama stickers, campaign cheerleading commonplace

In one case the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates federal employees who conduct politics on government time, said it was “commonplace” in a Dallas IRS office for employees to have pro-Obama screensavers on their computers, and to have campaign-style buttons and stickers at their office.

In another case, a worker at the tax agency’s customer help line urged taxpayers “to re-elect President Obama in 2012 by repeatedly reciting a chant based on the spelling of his last name,” the Office of Special Counsel said in a statement.

OSC said it is seeking “significant disciplinary action” against that employee.
Another IRS employee in Kentucky has agreed to serve a 14-day suspension for blasting Republicans in a conversation with a taxpayer.

“They’re going to take women back 40 years,” the IRS employee said in a conversation that was recorded. The employee also said that “if you vote for a Republican, the rich are going to get richer and the poor are going to get poorer.”

I still like my "modest proposal" for the civil service; political affirmative action.  Strict quotas by political belief.  Fire half of the current crop of democrats, and replace them with partisan republicans up and down the hierarchy and let them keep each other in line.  Throw in a proportional number of greens, Peronistas and Naderites to keep them amused.

If you're interested in this scandal, you Paul Caron's (The TaxProf Blog) daily update is essential reading.