RNC Sues IRS

The Republican National Committee has filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service for withholding records sought by a 2013 Freedom of Information Act request.

In the request, the RNC sought to review documents and correspondence related to criteria used for reviewing and approving 501©(4) tax-exempt organizations. The request followed revelations that the IRS had been targeting conservative organizations, and the RNC sought to shed light on who had ordered actions to be taken against those groups, and why.

Over the course of the last 226 business days, the IRS requested several extensions in order to complete the RIC’s request, but has yet to present the information, according to the RNC.

“We’re filing this suit because the Obama administration has a responsibility to be transparent and accountable to the American people,” said RNC chairman Reince Priebus. “The IRS has a legal obligation to answer our inquiry for these records. On Tax Day especially Americans deserve to know whether they can trust the agency to which they’re sending their taxes.”

In the complaint, filed with the District Court for the District of Columbia, the RNC asked for a declaratory judgment that the IRS failure to disclose the records is unlawful under the FOIA; and requested a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining  the IRS from withholding the requested records.

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