The Hill - Conservative Groups Sue Holder, IRS Over Tea Party Targeting

By Bernie Becker, TheHill.com

An organization representing 25 Tea Party and conservative groups on Wednesday sued the Obama administration over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which filed the suit, said the groups were victims of “comprehensive, pervasive, invidious and organized” targeting and were denied their First and Fifth Amendment rights.

The groups are seeking an unspecified amount of “compensatory and punitive damages” against the defendants, who include the IRS, Attorney General Eric Holder and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

Steven Miller, the former acting IRS chief, and two other IRS officials central to the current uproar – Lois Lerner and Holly Paz – were all personally named in the suit, which was filed on Wednesday in a Washington federal court.

Jay Sekulow, a longtime conservative activist and chief counsel for ACLJ, said the group would work to ensure that the IRS would be punished for its targeting of conservative groups. . . .

You can read the entire story here.