Ohio Tea Party Groups Plan To Sue IRS
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The attorney for Ohio's largest tea party organization, the Ohio Liberty Council, says the organization will sue the Internal Revenue Service.
"Tea party groups in Ohio are going to sue the IRS for violating their First Amendment rights, freedom of association, and their Fifth Amendment rights when it comes to selective prosecution, or singling out," said Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law.
Thompson says the grounds for the lawsuit will include three key elements.
First, tea party groups want compensated for financial loss caused by, in some cases, up to three years of harassment. Second, they want a court precedent so this can never happen again. Third, they want those in the IRS responsible to be punished.
"The IRS strung out certain groups for as long as three years," said Thompson. "Then, they would send a letter saying you have ten days to answer these 50 very intrusive questions or else you lose your application."
Tom Zawistowski, head of the Portage County tea party, said he applied for tax exempt status with the IRS in 2009.
"It really was a nightmare," said Zawistowski. "After years, they came back with requests for - give us a list of all your members, tell us every politician that ever spoke to your group and what they spoke about, give us a list of all the speakers you've ever had speak to your group, give us a copy of every page of your webpage in paper, (and) print out every page of your Facebook page."