The good news is that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), has sent a letter to the Attorneys for former IRS Tax Exemption Director, Lois Lerner, that requires her to testify in front of the Committee on March 5th. More good news is that three members of this Committee – Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Issa either have received or will be receiving letters we wrote about and posted last week. Among other things, these letters are intended to draw their attention to the case of Malik Obama and how Lerner may have aided and abetted someone who qualifies as an enemy combatant.
Issa: Oversight Committee Chairman
Here is the cover letter to a five-page letter, written by Dr. Sadek Raouf Ebeid, a physician currently residing in the U.S. who has served as an officer in the Egyptian Air Force.
Here is an excerpt from Ebeid’s letter:
“We… have enough evidence that during the presidency of Mr. Barack Obama, his elder brother Malik was granted highly questionable tax-exempt status (US Tax ID 26-2461343), with retroactive privileges dating back 38 months. This tax-exempt designation continues to allow him to collect money from American taxpayers and funnel it overseas.
The tax privileges were granted to him by Ms. Lois Lerner, who later invoked her Fifth Amendment right before a congressional committee and refused to answer any questions regarding her activities.”
The potentially not-so-good news is that the letter from Issa seems to focus exclusively on two things while avoiding the elephant in the room.
- Whether Lerner waived her Fifth amendment right by declaring her innocence (to its credit, Issa’s committee determined she had).
- The targeting of conservative groups by Lerner and the IRS.
Worthy of note is that Lerner has not been granted immunity for her testimony. Until the Malik Obama angle is formally introduced, that is probably a good thing. The committee is expecting Lerner’s testimony on March 5th based not on immunity but based on the conclusion that she waived her fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. If her actions relative to Malik Obama are merely introduced by someone on the committee – anyone – next week, it very likely could cause her to start begging for immunity.
To date, there has been no mention of or acknowledgment by any member of Congress (save for Rep. Mike Kelly, who months ago said the charges are “spot on” but has since gone silent) that Lerner’s granting 501(c)(3) status to Malik Obama’s organization may have been illegal and as such, may have involved the commission of a crime (by Lerner) that resulted in aiding an enemy combatant (alleged to be Malik Obama).
Rep. Mike Kelly: Has gone dark after saying charges are “spot on”.
Here are the phone numbers to each office for each of these three congressmen. Please feel free to contact them – especially if you’re in one of their districts – and tell them you want answers from Lerner about why she backdated Malik Obama’s tax exempt status thirty-eight months and whether or not she investigated his foundation prior to doing so, as had been requested by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC):
Rep. Darrell Issa
Washington, DC: (202) 225-3906
Vista, CA: (760) 599-5000
Dana Point, CA: (949) 281-2449
Rep. Trey Gowdy
Washington, DC: (202) 225-6030
Greenville, SC: (864) 241-0175
Spartanburg, SC: (864) 583-3264
Rep. Jim Jordan
Washington, DC: (202) 225-2676
Lima, OH: (419) 999-6455
Norwalk, OH: (419) 663-1426
The contact information for the Oversight Committee is: (202) 225-5074.
While you’re at it, feel free to contact Rep. Mike Kelly’s Communications Director, Tom Qualtere and ask him if Mr. Kelly is going to give the Oversight Committee a “spot on” tip.
Tom Qualtere: 202-740-2158
On a related note, we have provided the office of Attorney Cleta Mitchell with all of this information. An individual from Mitchell’s office has seen this information, has acknowledged seeing it, and had the high points explained to her in detail. Mitchell is an attorney who represents one of the targets of the IRS – Catherine Engelbrecht. As such, Mitchell has the information and opportunity to go on offense with Lois Lerner and the IRS. Will she pass this information along to the Oversight Committee?
To contact Mitchell’s office, call (202) 295-4081 and ask her if she will do so.
Engelbrecht testified in front of the House Oversight Committee earlier this month.
Here is a short video that summarizes what should be the biggest scandal in the history of the United States: