Another Watergate?

                Will the IRS scandal be Barack Obama’s Watergate?  It could be! The Watergate scandal caused Richard Nixon to resign from the office of President of the United States in August 1974.  It was a major political scandal that resulted from a burglary at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters on June 17, 1972, and the cover-up from the Nixon administration.

                “When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the U.S. Congress, the Nixon administration’s resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis.  The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of clandestine and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration.  Those activities included such `dirty tricks’ as bugging the offices of political opponents and people of whom Nixon or his officials were suspicious.  Nixon and his close aides ordered harassment of activist groups and political figures, using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  The scandal led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration, articles of impeachment, and the resignation of Richard Nixon, the President of the United States.  The scandal also resulted in the indictment of 69 people, with trials or pleas resulting in 48 being found guilty and incarcerated, many of whom were Nixon’s top administration officials.

                “The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the DNC headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972.  The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP), the official organization of Nixon’s campaign.  In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the President’s staff, including testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations.  After a protracted series of bitter court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators; he eventually complied.  Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up the questionable goings-on that had taken place after the break-in.

Facing near-certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and equally certain conviction by the Senate, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974.  On September 8, 1974, his successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him.”  President Ford tried to heal the nation by pardoning Nixon.  His attempt backfired and cost President Ford his own re-election.

                Wayne Root claims he “was the victim of a widespread politically-motivated criminal attack by the IRS.”  He also claims that he has evidence tying the IRS scandal to the Obama White House.  Judicial Watch, a government watch dog, took Root’s case.

                Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, stated:  “The Obama IRS obstructed the release of Wayne Root’s tax documents.  The abuse of process Judicial Watch and Wayne suffered through to get these documents is scandalous.  Now we know why the Obama IRS was hesitant to give Wayne his own IRS files.  These documents show the Obama IRS scandal was more than just suppressing the Tea Party, it was also about auditing critics of President Obama.  Richard Nixon had to resign from office for less….” 

                Documents obtained by Judicial Watch clearly show that Root was targeted by IRS.  He believes the attack on him was meant to destroy, bankrupt, or silence him.  Root’s report of the experience is very interesting.  I encourage you to read it.