By now you no doubt have heard that the Internal Revenue Service singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny. But the demands made of tea party organizations aren’t the only instances of biased treatment by federal agencies.
Now comes word that the Environmental Protection Agency has been abusing the Freedom of Information Act. Agencies can charge FOIA request makers for the time and effort to produce documents. They also can waive those charges if the applicants ask. Documents obtained by the Competitive Enterprise Institute show that the agency has granted such waiver requests from liberal groups 92 percent of the time — while rejecting or ignoring similar waiver requests from conservative groups 81 percent of the time. This shows a clear pattern of partisan preferential treatment that cannot be explained away.
But wait — there’s more. Last spring, the Obama campaign smeared businessman Frank Vander Sloot, a prominent supporter of GOP candidate Mitt Romney, as a disreputable character. That wasn’t particularly nice, but it was fair game. This, however, isn’t: In the months since, Vander Sloot has been audited not once, not twice, but thrice — two times by the IRS and once by the Labor Department. The audits, which cost Vander Sloot tens of thousands of dollars, found nothing out of order.
People are also reading…
Government agencies carry out the policy directives of the party in power, and that is to be expected. It is, in fact, one reason we hold elections. But blatantly discriminating against one side or the other by misusing neutral laws such as the tax code and the Freedom of Information Act falls far outside the zone of the acceptable. It is an egregious abuse of power. It also is starting to look like a hallmark of this administration.
