WASHINGTON — A witness at a congressional hearing today on IRS targeting of conservative organizations claims he has proof the agency illegally leaked confidential information.
"I would call the disclosure of our donor lists by the IRS a felony," charged John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, or NOM, in Washington, D.C., in emotionally charged testimony Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee .
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Eastman testified that the organization's IRS Form 990 tax return, which lists its donors, was published on the website of the Human Rights Campaign, a "gay-rights" advocacy group.
He claimed to have proof the IRS leaked his organization's confidential donor list under questioning by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Eastman said "forensic" specialists within his organization had stripped layers from the document posted on the HRC website to identify "meta-data," or unseen embedded code, that identified the document as having originated from within the IRS.
Eastman testified the "internal IRS stamps" in the meta-data of the NOM donor list provide "proof" the document originated from within the IRS and was leaked to HRC to embarrass and "chill" NOM donors opposed to same-sex marriage.
"You can imagine our shock and disgust over this disclosure," Eastman told the panel. "We jealously guard our donors."
Eastman alleged the IRS leak of his organization's non-public donor list was "a deliberate act" undertaken in a manner to avoid detection, a charge he said he was prepared to substantiate with evidence.
"This just smells and I hope this committee gets to the bottom of it," he concluded.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/06/tea-party-groups-testify-on-capitol-hill/
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