Tom Fitton: Judicial Watch Is Suing IRS Over Church Monitoring

The president of Judicial Watch, a conservative group that promotes transparency and accountability in government, said the organization has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the IRS to force the agency to produce all documents about its monitoring of churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations for alleged political activity.

Tom Fitton appeared Tuesday on Newsmax TV's "America’s Forum," where he explained that the lawsuit was the last resort since the IRS "has stonewalled" the group’s requests.

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"We went to court to try to get them to respond to our request to get information about what's going on here," Fitton said.

"Who are these 99 churches that are being targeted? What is our criteria? As you know, or may know, there are serious concerns about whether the IRS can even monitor the First Amendment-protected activities of churches," he said.

"The First Amendment gives strong support and protections to the freedom of religion."

Of particular concern, Fitton said, is the IRS's record of targeting opponents of President Barack Obama.

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