New Head of IRS Tax-Exempt Division Linked to Obama-Era Tea Party Scandal

It might be hard to put a finger on, but the modern era of targeting conservatives may have begun as far back as the Clinton years—but it was the election of Barack Obama that sent it into overdrive. The response to Obama, and more specifically Obamacare, was the Tea Party. Its purely organic rise caught the left and Democrats off guard. However, they quickly found ways they thought the government could control the Tea Party. One of those ways was through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The new head of one of the IRS divisions knows all about harassing the Tea Party:

You wouldn’t believe this… the same people who worked in the IRS Tax-Exempt office that targeted the Tea Party Movement under Obama were reinstated back to the office under Biden and still remain there. And now one of them runs the Tax-Exempt office… WHAT IN THE……
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) June 8, 2025

A new memo from the American Accountability Foundation (AFF), a non-profit government oversight and research group, reveals an interesting story. Robert Choi was the director of the IRS' Tax Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements Division in 2010. That was right about the time that Obama's IRS began giving Tea Party groups looking to apply for tax-exempt status a hard look. But now, even given that dubious history, in April, Choi was promoted to acting commissioner of the Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division. This division handles the stewardship of tax laws that oversee tax-exempt organizations. What could go wrong there?

For some context, let's take a stroll down memory lane. Choi led the same division from 2007 to 2010. His then-boss's name might ring a bell, Lois Lerner. Yes, that Lois Lerner, who admitted in 2013 to isolating conservative groups who applied for tax-exempt status and had words like "tea party" or "patriot" in their names. That game-playing ultimately cost Lerner her job. Damning emails also showed Lerner calling Republicans "crazies" and "a**holes."

At the time, Choi did not receive any disciplinary actions, but he was shown to be involved in several email communications involving Tea Party cases. Other IRS employees also went to him for some unknown type of "clearance." It might be interesting to note that Choi is a registered Democrat.

But Robert Choi is not the only Tea Party ghost of the IRS' past that remains. Holly Paz worked under Choi in the Obama/Lerner era and took over for him as director of the Rulings and Agreements Division, and later, as commissioner of the Large Business and International Division. After her part in the Tea Party-IRS scandal was revealed, including holding up 20-30 applications from Tea Party groups, many of them for over a year, Paz was put on administrative leave. She was promoted to a prominent position within the IRS during, surprise, the Biden administration.

Sen. Wyden is blocking Trump’s new IRS Commissioner—because Billy Long would finally end the Democrats’ weaponization of the IRS.

The Democrats have used the IRS to target us at Tea Party Patriots and silence dissent.

This corrupt abuse must be shut down once and for all. pic.twitter.com/2NC60xrcoO
— Jenny Beth Martin (@jennybethm) May 23, 2025

It was Catherine Engelbrecht and her founding of "True the Vote" that broke the scandal wide open. After she filed for tax-exempt status for the group, she began getting FBI domestic terrorism inquiries, a visit from the IRS, and two personal IRS audits, along with two business audits. Tax-exempt applications for True the Vote and another group she founded seemed to be getting slow-walked. Questions on applications began to get very detailed. The timing of it all was also suspect. Former President Obama maintained that "a few rogue agents" were behind it all.

Also Read: This Simple DOGE Action Regarding the IRS Website Login Button Is What I Voted For

Since day one of President Donald Trump's second administration, sweeping the federal government of not just any Biden holdovers, but Obama holdovers as well, should have been a top priority. Why is this guy and his buddy Holly Paz anywhere near the IRS, and especially as head of the tax-exempt division? Trump has named former Missouri Congressman Billy Long to take over the IRS, but he has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. The Senate has a lot on its plate, but now might be a good time to walk and chew gum at the same time and get Long confirmed and send Robert Choi and the rest of his ilk packing.

Remember when the left unleashed the IRS on the tea party? I do! pic.twitter.com/Aqfb4siVak
— Bryan Cooper (@xtcoop) April 22, 2025

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