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Group Makes FOIA Request for Records on IRS Investigation of 501(c)(3) Orgs

SEP. 21, 2006

Group Makes FOIA Request for Records on IRS Investigation of 501(c)(3) Orgs

DATED SEP. 21, 2006
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES

 

September 21, 2006

 

 

IRS FOIA Request

 

Disclosure Office 3

 

Room 1210

 

31 Hopkins Plaza

 

Baltimore, MD 21201

 

Re: FOIA Request

 

Dear Sir/Madam:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ("CREW") makes this request for records, regardless of format, medium, or physical characteristics, and including electronic records and information, audiotapes, videotapes, and photographs, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and IRS FOIA Regulations 26 C.F.R. § 601.702.

Specifically, CREW seeks any and all documents and records from any office within the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), including its field or regional offices described in the following categories:

1. Any and all documents and records that mention or relate to the development and implementation of the IRS's Political Activity Compliance Initiative (PACI) Project;

2. Any and all documents and records discussing in any way the IRS's Final PACI Report, "Project 302, Political Activities Compliance Initiative;"

3. Any and all documents provided to staff of the IRS who prepared the Final Report, "Project 302, Political Activities Compliance Initiative;"

4. Any and all documents and records describing the cost to create and implement the PACI 2004 and 2006 project;

5. Any and all documents and records of any communications with the White House or any Member of Congress or the staff of any Member of Congress regarding the PACI project;

6. Any and all documents and records that name and describe all of the IRC 501(c)(3) organizations including, but not limited to, churches and other religious organizations that have been investigated and/or examined by the IRS in order to promote compliance with the prohibition against political campaign intervention from 1994 to 2004;

7. Any and all documents and records that describe and name the 132 IRC 501(c)(3) organizations including, but not limited to, churches and other religious organizations that were examined and/or investigated by the IRS under its new PACI project since 2004;

8. Any and all documents and records that discuss or describe in any way the 166 referrals the IRS received through November 30, 2004 which prompted the examination and/or investigation of the corresponding IRC 501(c)(3) organizations described supra;

9. Any and all documents, records or notifications relating to a conclusion, finding, or determination by the IRS or any of its field offices of any violation of federal law or regulations by the corresponding § 501(c)(3) organizations including, but not limited to, churches and other religious organizations from 2004 to the present.

Because these organizations are nonprofit corporations organized under IRC § 501(c), their tax returns and return information are not subject to the same nondisclosure requirements of 26 U.S.C. § 6103. See 26 U.S.C. §§ 6103, 6104(b).

Please search for responsive records regardless of format, medium, or physical characteristics. We seek records of any kind, including electronic records, audiotapes, videotapes, photographs, and back-up tapes. Our request includes any telephone messages, voice mail messages, daily agenda and calendars, information about scheduled meetings and/or discussions, whether in-person or over the telephone, agendas for those meetings and/or discussions, participants included in those meetings and/or discussions, minutes of any such meetings and/or discussions, the topics discussed at those meetings and/or discussions, e-mail regarding meetings and/or discussions, e-mail or facsimiles sent as a result of those meetings and/or discussions, and transcripts and notes of any such meetings and/or discussions to the extent they relate to the IRS's PACI project.

If it is your position that any portion of the requested records is exempt from disclosure, CREW requests that you provide an index of those documents as required under Vaughn v. Rosen. 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1972). As you are aware, a Vaughn index must describe each document claimed as exempt with sufficient specificity "to permit a reasoned judgment as to whether the material is actually exempt under FOIA." Founding Church of Scientology v. Bell. 603 F.2d 945, 959 (D.C. Cir. 1979). Moreover, the Vaughn index must "describe each document or portion thereof withheld, and for each withholding it must discuss the consequences of supplying the sought-after-information." King v. United States Dep't of Justice. 830 F.2d 210, 223-24 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (emphasis added). Further, "the withholding agency must supply 'a relatively detailed justification, specifically identifying the reasons why a particular exemption is relevant and correlating those claims with the particular part of a withheld document to which they apply.'" Id. at 224, citing Mead Data Central v. United States Dep't of the Air Force, 566 F.2d 242, 251 (D.C. Cir. 1977).

In the event that some portions of the requested records are properly exempt from disclosure, please disclose any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions of the requested records. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(b) ("Any reasonably segregable portion of a records shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt . . . "); see also Schiller v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd., 964 F.2d 1205, 1209 (D.C. Cir. 1992). If it is your position that a document contains non-exempt segments, but that those non-exempt segments are so dispersed throughout the document as to make segregation impossible, please state what portion of the document is non-exempt and how the material is dispersed throughout the documents. Mead Data Central, 566 F.2d at 261. Claims of non-segregability must be made with the same degree of detail as required for claims of exemption in a Vaughn index. If a request is denied in whole, please state specifically that it is not reasonable to segregate portions of the record for release.

 

Fee Waiver Request

 

 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii) and agency regulations 26 C.F.R. § 601.702, CREW requests a waiver of fees associated with processing this request for records. The subject of this request concerns the operations of the federal government and the disclosures will likely contribute to a better understanding of relevant government procedures by CREW and the general public in a significant way. This subject is of particular interest and importance to the public in light of the attention the media placed on the IRS's scrutiny of 501(c)(3) organizations during the 2004 election cycle. Moreover, the request is primarily and fundamentally for noncommercial purposes. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). See, e.g., McClellan Ecological v. Carlucci, 835 F.2d 1282, 1285 (9th Cir. 1987). Specifically, these records are likely to contribute to the public's understanding, particularly before an election cycle, of how the IRS identifies possible cases of political intervention by 501(c)(3) organizations and exercises its investigatory function.

CREW is a non-profit corporation, organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. CREW is committed to protecting the right of citizens to be aware of the activities of government officials and to ensuring the integrity of those officials. CREW is dedicated to empowering citizens to have an influential voice in government decisions and in the government decision-making process. The release of information garnered through this request is not in CREW's financial interest. CREW will analyze the information responsive to this request, and will likely share its analysis with the public, either through memoranda, reports or press releases. CREW has an established record of carrying out these types of activities, as evidenced through its website, www.citizensforethics.org. Currently, the CREW website contains links to thousands of pages of documents acquired from 19 FOIA requests. See http://citizensforethics.org/activities/foia.php. Visitors to CREW's website can peruse the FOIA request letters, the responses from government agencies, and a growing number of documents responding to FOIA requests. CREW's virtual reading room provides around-the-clock access to anyone willing to learn about the government activities that were the focus of CREW's FOIA requests. The CREW website also includes documents relating to CREW's FOIA litigation, Internal Revenue Service complaints, and Federal Election Commission complaints.

Under these circumstances, CREW satisfies fully the criteria for a fee waiver.

 

Conclusion

 

 

Please respond to this request in writing within 20 days as requested under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(I). If all of the requested documents are not available within that time period, CREW requests that you provide it with all requested documents or portions of documents that are available within that time period.

If you have any questions about this request or foresee problems in releasing fully the requested records within the 20-day period, please call me within that time period. I can be reached at (202) 408-5565. Also, if CREW's request for a fee waiver is not granted in full, please contact me immediately upon making such a determination. Please send the requested documents to Kimberly Perkins, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 1400 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 450, Washington, D.C. 20005.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

 

 

Kimberly D. Perkins

 

Counsel

 

Citizens for Responsibility and

 

Ethics in Washington
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