Conservative leaders are speaking out after President Obama said there was “not a smidgen of corruption” within the IRS.
The IRS was accused of targeting conservative groups starting in 2012 and the investigation is ongoing.
>>> Check Out: The IRS Drive to Silence the Right
Last week, Catherine Englebrecht, Founder of True the Vote and King Street Patriots, testified in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs.
She founded True the Vote to help end voter fraud and protect the election process after she recognized corruption in her home state of Texas while volunteering in the 2008 elections.
During her testimony, Englebrecht said:
“Shortly after filing IRS forms to establish 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) tax exempt organizations, an assortment of federal entities including law enforcement agencies and a Congressman from Maryland, Elijah Cummings came knocking at my door. In nearly two decades of running our small business, my husband and I never dealt with any government agency, outside of filing our annual tax returns. We had never been audited, we had never been investigated, but all that changed upon submitting applications for the non profit statuses of True the Vote and King Street Patriots. Since that filing in 2010, my private businesses, my nonprofit organizations, and family have been subjected to more than 15 instances of audit or inquiry by federal agencies.”
Others have claimed they have received unfair audits, regulations and non-tax exempt status from the IRS.
Another woman, Alabama Tea Party leader Becky Gerritson, testified 8 months ago and appeared on Fox News this weekend to tell her story since the House started a new trial on the scandal.
Gerritson said she hadn’t had “a smidgen” of contact from the FBI since her testimony and that nothing has been done about her allegations as of yet.
According to Fox News, as least 72 applications with the term “tea party” were targeted by the IRS as early as 2010 and 40 of those groups have filed suit against the IRS.
Gerritson claimed that under new regulations for her Tea Party group, she is not allowed to use the words “reject,” “vote,” or “oppose” — just to name a few, she said. Additionally, Gerritson said she and other leaders are not allowed to speak publicly about legislation or incumbents’ voting records.
This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.
