IRS scandal is serious

Another phony scandal? The current controversy surrounding the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups between 2009-2011 should send chills up the spines of all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. The IRS is the only governmental agency that essentially operates outside of the Constitution.

The IRS has the power to initiate investigations into individuals or groups at will, and has the power to subpoena whatever information it deems relevant to compile information for prosecutions by the Department of Justice. It can turn the lives of individuals and groups upside down. People can go to prison. Having been granted such broad powers, the IRS absolutely must be impartial and just in its equal application of the tax laws. To do otherwise turns the IRS into a weapon for use by whatever political party is in power.

The IRS has stonewalled and been less than forthcoming in turning over documents to House committees that are conducting investigations. President Barack Obama feigned outrage when this story first broke last year but by the Super Bowl claimed that there wasn’t a smidgen of corruption at the IRS. No, not a smidgen, it’s a boatload.

Dean Weber

Deer Park