U.S. District Court Dismisses Tea Party Lawsuit Against the IRS

On October 23, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton dismissed two lawsuits against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). True the Vote, an offshoot of the Tea Party-Affiliated King Street Patriots, sued the IRS claiming the IRS targeted conservative tax-exempt groups by providing greater scrutiny to their applications for tax-exempt status and delaying approval of tax-exempt status. The Court did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit, but stated “unless an actual, ongoing controversy exists in this case, this court is without power to decide it.” Since the IRS is no longer screening tax-exempt applications based on political leanings, the governmental conduct is no longer an impact on the plaintiffs in the case. True the Vote received its tax exempt status from the IRS after the lawsuit was filed, and sot its complaint is now moot. Click here to read the full opinion.