Guy Benson
As you read this story, bear in mind that this special counsel report exposes conduct that isn't directly related to the IRS targeting scandal. No, these are other bad actors within the agency violating the Hatch Act by abusing their official positions for partisan ends. Add this new information into the Lois Lerner mix (much more on her below), and a very ugly picture of IRS culture emerges. Via the Washington Post:
Internal Revenue Service employees urged callers to vote for President Obama, disparaged Republicans in conversations with taxpayers and wore pro-Obama swag at work during the 2012 election cycle, according to a federal ethics watchdog. The Office of Special Counsel, which reviews whistleblower allegations, highlighted the three cases in an announcement on Wednesday. Federal law, specifically the Hatch Act, prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan campaign activities...OSC said in its announcement that it filed a complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board against an IRS customer-service worker who allegedly encouraged taxpayers to reelect Obama by “repeatedly reciting a chant based on the spelling of [the president's] last name.” “Given the seriousness of the allegations and the employee’s Hatch Act knowledge, OSC is seeking significant disciplinary action,” the watchdog agency said. OSC said an IRS tax-advisory specialist in a separate case will serve a 14-day suspension for promoting partisan political views while assisting a taxpayer during the 2012 election season. The worker admitted to Hatch Act violations after a recorded conversation revealed she had shared anti-Republican opinions with a customer.
So we have one documented case of an IRS worker exhorting customers to re-elect Obama, with another employee dumping on Republicans. It's as if this person were reading off of DNC talking points:
OSC quoted the employee saying: “Republicans already [sic] trying to cap my pension and … they’re trying to take women back 40 years.” The employee added that her mother had always told her voting Republican would hurt the poor and make the rich more wealthy, saying she found the advice to be true, according to OSC. In a third case, the watchdog agency issued “cautionary guidance” to an IRS taxpayer-assistance center in Dallas following allegations that workers wore pro-Obama stickers, buttons and clothing at their jobs and displayed similar screensavers on agency computers. OSC said the items were “commonplace around the office.” Federal employees are not supposed to wear or display partisan items in the workplace, according to OSC.
Article continued at link:
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2014/04/10/watchdog-irs-employees-told-taxpayers-to-vote-for-obama-attacked-republicans-n1822587
