One of the largest anti-gay marriage groups, the National Organization for Marriage, is accusing the Internal Revenue Service of foul play in the leaking of their donor lists. Confidential donor lists found their way to the hands of the Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest pro-gay marriage groups.
One of the donors is really not happy that his name was leaked. That would be presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
The National Organization for Marriage is fuming over the leak and is asking the IRS for an investigation. They also sent a warning to the Human Rights Campaign. NOM claims someone from fed the Human Rights Campaign the documents listing its 2008 contributors including Romney’s PAC contribution of $10,000. In a blog in late March, the Human Rights Campaign declared it had uncovered one of the group’s “top secret donors,” and accused Romney of “essentially funding NOM’s strategy of using racial division and unfounded scare tactics to attack LGBT equality.”
National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown said the leak was illegal, he said,
“This is not something you’d expect to happen in the U.S.. The issue is this is a private tax document. This is a potential criminal investigation,” he said, claiming the IRS has contacted the group and is “taking this seriously.”
IRS spokesman Dean Patterson would not confirm or deny and investigation. He said in a statement,
“IRS takes this confidentiality of return information very seriously. Any allegations of improper disclosures of taxpayer information are investigated by the Treasury Inspector General,”
Brown’s group was quick to point out that the Human Rights Campaign is led by Joe Solmonese, a national co-chairman of Obama’s re-election campaign.
The Human Rights Campaign said of the documents,
“In the past few weeks HRC lawfully obtained and disseminated truthful information about NOM’s racial-wedge strategy and secret donors. Noticeably absent from NOM’s allegations is any awareness of First Amendment freedoms. Embarrassed that its true agenda is out in the open, NOM has launched a crusade to intimidate and suppress those who are revealing its anti-LGBT mission. HRC has no intention of helping NOM to suppress the truth.”
Romney’s donation could be found elsewhere as the PAC had filed the donation with Alabama state officials.