“True the Vote” Amends Complaint in Suit against IRS

The Washington Post reports that “True the Vote,” a Houston-based voter watchdog group with teaparty ties that has sued for determination of tax-exempt charitable status and damagesfor allegedly unlawful conduct by the IRS, has expanded its lawsuit in view ofrecent disclosures of the involvement of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in theprocessing of applications for exemption by tea party groups.  According to the story, the lawsuit now names asa defendant the IRS Chief Counsel, William Wilkins, and also adds “five seniorIRS employees — four of whom were working at headquarters, one of whom wasbased in Cincinnati.” Further, the plaintiff’s complaint now alleges violations of theAdministrative Procedure Act. 

It is important to note thatthis entity is not among the many tea party groups seeking recognition of federalincome tax exemption under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(4).  Rather, this group has sought recognition oftax exemption as a section 501(c)(3) charitable and educationalorganization.  Interested readers canview a copy of the entity’s first amended complaint here. 

The organization appears to be ona mission to expose what it believes to be governmental misconduct spurred by theentity’s perceived tea party links, as both the amended complaint and thefollowing excerpt from the Post suggest:

“This lawsuit is the only wayto get all of the answers involving this national scandal,” True the VotePresident Catherine Engelbrecht said in a statement. “Our goal is not a speedysettlement or a quiet Washington deal. We will sue, depose and expose everyperson who came near this illegal scheme to suppress voters’ First Amendmentrights. The American people — not just True the Vote — deserve answers.”

JRB