Originally published at: Trump Wants Unilateral Power To Destroy Nonprofits. Congress Can Block It.
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. If passed, a bill set for a Thursday morning vote in the House would allow the treasury secretary to unilaterally strip the tax-exempt status from any nonprofit organization the secretary chooses to accuse of supporting terrorism. It is imperative that the…
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What the heck is wrong with a non-profit outfit being tax exempt?
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The definition of “terrorist” is going to get interesting.
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I can think of a few examples of ‘non-profits’ that should have their tax exemption stripped, specifically right-wing religious organizations.
But I am sure that that is not what Jesusbot Mike has in mind.
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Terrorist is already well-defined by DonOLD Drumpf. Anyone who has the temerity to oppose any of his desires is a terrorist.
Obviously not.
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So I’m projecting that the ACLU will be the first group in the cross-hairs should this bill become law.
ETA Social Security Works would surely be on the list. The National Endowment for the Arts, and civil rights organizations.
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Followed by Planned Parenthood.
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I think the subhed of every story about this misadministration, from here unto eternity, should be “Yes, they’re really going to go full fascist.”
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ACLU and The League of Women Voters are going to be the first against the wall. Common Cause, NAACP, and CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) will be there with them.
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This effort to destroy non-profits like, say, Planned Parenthood.
This is really, really scary.
Quote:
“…ACLU senior policy counsel Kia Hamadanchy told NPQ that “the fear is that this is the sort of thing that a Trump administration could weaponize against civil society broadly—not just organizations that might be involved in protests regarding the conflict in Gaza, but civil society writ large.”
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So basically you can say goodbye to the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Lincoln Project, Act Blue, Planned Parenthood, fucking all of it. Jesus fucking Christ. And we’re just going to cross our fingers and hope for four fucking years of this shit?
Isn’t this the “second amendment moment” the sister fuckers on the right have been bleating about?
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Seems reasonable. It seems to work just fine for Putin.
First they came for the nonprofits …
It is time to study Caligula. That most notorious of Roman emperors killed what was left of the republic and centralised authority in himself. Donald Trump does not need to make his horse a senator; it will be enough to keep appointing charlatans to America’s great offices of state.
– Edward Luce
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I am wondering if this is about retribution & vengeance. Wasn’t Trump fined & the non-profit status revoked for a foundation he & his family ran?
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I imagine that is going to be challenged in court. So, I guess we will need a designated legal definition of “terrorist”, and may be “enemy” too since that may be needed to define terrorist.
Lawyers everywhere should be proud of the wonderful legal and justice system they created to keep them employed.
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Oh, I’m certain it will be challenged in court, but with our current Federal court system it’s anyone’s guess about what the outcome will be in the lower courts. The Circuit Court outcome is going to vary depending on which Circuit the case is heard in. The would be no restraining order approved in the Fifth Circuit, for example.
The Supreme Court is a lost cause, but we should still put up a good fight.
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Don’t forget the (oddly named) Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks and names terrorist groups in the US.
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TRUMP WANTS UNILATERAL POWER.
Fixed it for you.
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Yes. He was using charitable contributions as his personal stash, rather than the alleged purposes for which they were intended.
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