The Hill - Conservative Groups Offer Tearful Testimony on IRS 'Intimidation'

By Bernie Becker, TheHill.com

In often emotional testimony on Tuesday before a House panel, Tea Party and conservative activists said the IRS had stonewalled tax-exempt applications and chilled their First Amendment rights.

Representatives from groups singled out by the IRS, in their first appearance before a congressional panel, said that they received a string of intrusive questions from the agency as it considered their applications, and that the IRS targeting had been a significant burden on their organization. . . .

At Tuesday’s hearing, Kevin Kookogey of the Linchpins of Liberty said that his application for tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status had been delayed for close to two-and-a-half years, when the wait time had previously been two to four months. . . .

Kookogey’s group, like three others at the hearing, is also part of the suit filed by the American Center for Law and Justice on behalf of 25 groups. . . .

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