Senate Judiciary Committee Member Seeks Greater Justice Department Oversight of 501(c)(4)s

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Crimeand Terrorism Subcommittee, apparently wants the Justice Department to deferless to the IRS when deciding whether to investigate political campaign-relatedactivity of social welfare organizations exempt from federal income tax undersection 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, according to a story in TaxNotes Today.  Whitehouse’s comments wereoffered at yesterday’s subcommittee hearing, “CurrentIssues in Campaign Finance Law Enforcement.”  Whitehouse reportedly expressed doubt that thequestion of whether an organization has falsely claimed to have made no expendituresfor political campaign activity is characterized by tax law complexity.  He also voiced concern that 501(c)(4)s arebeing used in a manner that obscures the identities of ultimate contributors offunds destined for political action committees.  

The electroniccitation to the story is 2013 TNT 69-6.

JRB