As Trump Admin Weaponizes IRS, Warren, Schumer, Senators Demand Investigation into Potentially Criminal Activity Against Harvard
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), sent a letter to the Acting Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Heather Hill, demanding that she open an investigation into alarming reports that the Trump Administration is pressuring the IRS to consider revoking the non-profit status of Harvard University.
In a Truth Social post, the President stated that “Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax-Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness.’” Furthermore, according to reports, the President is also targeting Harvard’s tax-exempt status because he disapproves of the university’s diversity and inclusion programs and claims that it has not sufficiently addressed antisemitism on campus.
“The President is targeting the non-profit status of Harvard University for blatantly political purposes,” the senators wrote.
It is illegal and unconstitutional for the IRS to use politically motivated reasons to revoke the tax-exempt status of schools, hospitals, churches, or any other tax-exempt entities. The senators are demanding an investigation into potential criminal activity related to this decision and into whether or not the Trump Administration is using the IRS to take other politically motivated actions.
“The president’s call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status raises troubling constitutional questions, including whether the president is trying to squelch Harvard’s free speech rights and whether the revocation of its tax-exempt status will deprive the university of its due process rights,” the senators continued.
The lawmakers also note that while Harvard University could potentially have the resources to fight this particular legal battle, it sets a dangerous precedent for President Trump to attack his perceived political enemies.
“Churches and synagogues, non-profit hospitals and clinics, charter and private schools, and any others that land on the President’s target list will be forced to relinquish their free speech rights in order to remain in existence, or otherwise face this organizational death sentence,” the senators wrote.
The full letter can be seen here.
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