NRSC: What's Next? Why is Jeanne Shaheen So Quiet About the IRS Scandal?

Washington, D.C. – Last week, news broke that not only were Jeanne Shaheen, Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats guilty of pressuring the IRS to target conservative groups, but the IRS Employees Union gave 93 cents of every dollar donated to Democratic candidates. Washington is entrenched in scandal that reveals the close relationship between Democrats and the IRS, yet after an initial statement, Senator Shaheen – who has received $5,000 from the IRS union – has been quiet.  

"Jeanne Shaheen and Senate Democrats - who pressured the IRS to target conservative groups - have an obligation to defend the citizens and organizations that were bullied by their own federal government,” said NRSC Communications Director Brad Dayspring. “Jeanne Shaheen is a United States Senator, and that requires action not just hollow press releases - but she continues to hide behind them."

As the IRS scandal continues to grow, Jeanne Shaheen must answer the following questions:

1. Does Senator Jeanne Shaheen think an independent special counsel is needed to investigate the IRS efforts?
2. Will Jeanne Shaheen  return the $5,000 in campaign contributions from IRS union?
3. Does Jeanne Shaheen believe that President Obama should apologize to citizens and groups that were unfairly targeted? 
4. Does Jeanne Shaheen believe that President Obama and other senior White House staffers were wrong to publicly suggest that conservative groups were breaking the law?

NRSC - IRS scandal grows; Shaheen has some answering to do

What's Next? Why is Jeanne Shaheen
So Quiet About the IRS Scandal? 

Washington, D.C. – Last week, news broke that not only were Jeanne Shaheen, Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats guilty of pressuring the IRS to target conservative groups, but the IRS Employees Union gave 93 cents of every dollar donated to Democratic candidates. Washington is entrenched in scandal that reveals the close relationship between Democrats and the IRS, yet after an initial statement, Senator Shaheen – who has received $5,000 from the IRS union – has been quiet.  

"Jeanne Shaheen and Senate Democrats - who pressured the IRS to target conservative groups - have an obligation to defend the citizens and organizations that were bullied by their own federal government,” said NRSC Communications Director Brad Dayspring. “Jeanne Shaheen is a United States Senator, and that requires action not just hollow press releases - but she continues to hide behind them."

As the IRS scandal continues to grow, Jeanne Shaheen must answer the following questions:

1. Does Senator Jeanne Shaheen think an independent special counsel is needed to investigate the IRS efforts?
2. Will Jeanne Shaheen  return the $5,000 in campaign contributions from IRS union?
3. Does Jeanne Shaheen believe that President Obama should apologize to citizens and groups that were unfairly targeted? 
4. Does Jeanne Shaheen believe that President Obama and other senior White House staffers were wrong to publicly suggest that conservative groups were breaking the law?

NRSC - Shaheen Must Return $5,000 in Campaign Contributions from IRS Union

Senate Democrats received more than $570,000 from IRS Union

Washington, D.C. – This week news broke that Senate Democrats were guilty of pressuring the IRS to target many of the conservative groups that the embattled agency now stands accused of doing.  But, a closer look reveals further evidence of Jeanne Shaheen's feigning outrage: Shaheen was reaping the benefits from Democrats' close relationship with the IRS, receiving $5,000 from the IRS Employees Union.

"While Democrats were pushing the IRS to target conservatives and other political enemies, their campaigns benefited from more than half a million dollars in campaign contributions from the IRS union," said NRSC Communications Director Brad Dayspring. "After years of pressuring the IRS to crackdown on their political opponents, Jeanne Shaheen and her Democratic colleagues must be honest with taxpayers and return the IRS union's contributions immediately."

Background:

Since 1998, Sitting Senate Democrats Have Received $571,000 From The IRS Employees Union – The National Treasury Employees Union. (Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 5/17/13)

Jeanne Shaheen Received $5,000 From The IRS Employees Union – The National Treasury Employees Union. (Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 5/17/13)

The National Treasury Employees Union Represents IRS Employees. “NTEU-represented agencies: Internal Revenue Service.” (National Treasury Employees Union, http://www.nteu.org/NTEU/#strong, Accessed On 5/17/13)

“With growing scrutiny of the role of tax-exempt groups in political campaigns, Congressional Republicans are pushing back against Democrats by warning about the possible misuse of the Internal Revenue Service to audit conservative groups….And the Republicans are also upset about an I.R.S. review requested by Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who leads the Finance Committee, into the political activities of tax-exempt groups. Such a review threatens to "chill the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights," wrote two Republican senators, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Jon Kyl of Arizona, in a letter sent to the I.R.S. ... Democrats dismissed the Republicans' complaints as groundless.” (New York Times, Republicans See a Political Motive in I.R.S. Audits, 10/6/10 )

“The Internal Revenue Service is caught in an election-year struggle between Democratic lawmakers pressing for a crackdown on nonprofit political groups and conservative organizations accusing the tax agency of conducting a politically charged witch hunt.” (New York Times, Scrutiny of Political Nonprofits Sets Off Claim of Harassment , 3/6/2012)

NRSC - Shaheen, Schumer Led Charge Calling on the IRS to Investigate Conservative Groups

Washington, D.C. - Senate Democrats, led by Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Jeanne Shaheen, Carl Levin, Max Baucus, and Al Franken pressured the IRS to target many of the conservative groups that the embattled agency now stands accused of doing. The Senate Democrat majority even went so far as to threaten to take legislative action against the agency if it failed to target the groups. Perhaps that's why Jeanne Shaheen is today feigning outrage.

Chuck Schumer and Jeanne Shaheen led the charge, calling on the IRS to investigate many of these conservative groups.

The New York Times reported back in 2010:

“With growing scrutiny of the role of tax-exempt groups in political campaigns, Congressional Republicans are pushing back against Democrats by warning about the possible misuse of the Internal Revenue Service to audit conservative groups….And the Republicans are also upset about an I.R.S. review requested by Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who leads the Finance Committee, into the political activities of tax-exempt groups. Such a review threatens to "chill the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights," wrote two Republican senators, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Jon Kyl of Arizona, in a letter sent to the I.R.S. ... Democrats dismissed the Republicans' complaints as groundless.”

"Two years ago, Democrats dismissed concerns over misuse of the IRS to audit conservative groups as groundless," said NRSC Communications Director Brad Dayspring. "Why did the IRS target these people?  Because Jeanne Shaheen and Chuck Schumer pressured them to. Today, Shaheen is pretending to be outraged by her OWN actions." 

The pressure grew so immense that the New York Times reported: “The Internal Revenue Service is caught in an election-year struggle between Democratic lawmakers pressing for a crackdown on nonprofit political groups and conservative organizations accusing the tax agency of conducting a politically charged witch hunt.”

Why did the IRS target conservative groups?  According to the New York Times, because Senate Democrats like Jeanne Shaheen directed and pressured them to.

NRSC - Shaheen, Senate Democrats Pushed IRS to Act on Political Groups, Threatened Legislative Action

May 15, 2015

Several of the Democratic Senators - including New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen - that are complaining about the IRS this week were pressuring the IRS to act on many of the same groups as recently as a year ago, even threatening legislative action against the agency. Perhaps that's why so many are today trying to quell the storm by joining in the outrage.

The same Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus who this week is calling for hearings into IRS activities, specifically called on the IRS to engage in that very conduct back in 2010. And he wasn't the only one. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer  and Jeanne Shaheen led the charge to call on the IRS to investigate many of these groups for political activity.

As the New York Times reported back in 2010: With growing scrutiny of the role of tax-exempt groups in political campaigns, Congressional Republicans are pushing back against Democrats by warning about the possible misuse of the Internal Revenue Service to audit conservative groups….And the Republicans are also upset about an I.R.S. review requested by Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who leads the Finance Committee, into the political activities of tax-exempt groups. Such a review threatens to "chill the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights," wrote two Republican senators, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Jon Kyl of Arizona, in a letter sent to the I.R.S. on Wednesday. ... Democrats dismissed the Republicans' complaints as groundless.

The New York Times also reported just one week before they sent this letter: The Internal Revenue Service is caught in an election-year struggle between Democratic lawmakers pressing for a crackdown on nonprofit political groups and conservative organizations accusing the tax agency of conducting a politically charged witch hunt.

Voters in New Hampshire may be interested to learn that Jeanne Shaheen was a leading Democratic Senator that pressured the IRS to investigate these organizations.