Internal Revenue Service - The Black Vault

Sensitive Case Reports (SCRs) Regarding FOIA Requests at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

John Greenewald — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 04:00:19 +0000

Background

The below documents were discovered after searching emails for the following keywords: “The Black Vault”, “John Greenewald” etc. The reasoning at that was fairly simple, but I did not expect the discovery that was made.

I received quite a few documents responsive to my request, however, the below stuck out. Internally, the IRS will file Sensitive Case Reports (SCRs) when requests come in from certain individuals or organizations that are like to attract media or Congressional attention, or if they consider them a unique of “novel” issue.

I was amazed to find myself at the top of the short list (albeit, it is alphabetical).

Also in the batch of records, were the SCR guidelines on how those requests are handled, and why certain people or organizations deserve to be on the list.

First, the official IRS list of requesters and organizations that are on the list:

Sensitive Case Reports Archive

IRS Sensitive Case Reports, October 1, 2016 – March 10, 2017 [98 Pages, 1.8MB]

IRS Sensitive Case FOIA Requests, October 1, 2016 – March 10, 2017 [432 Pages, 132.3MB]

IRS Sensitive Case Reports, January 1, 2020 – circa April 2022 [969 Pages, 260MB]

Guidelines for PGLD Sensitive Case Reports (January, 2016)

The following is taken directly from the Guidelines for PGLD Sensitive Case Reports (January, 2016):

1. Process for reporting

The case worker should prepare a Sensitive Case Report (SCR) within 5 days of case assignment. Disclosure Managers (DM) can also make an SCR determination. Input “SCR” in the Subject Line within the case in AFOIA as soon as possible, even if in advance of finalization of the SCR. Follow the approval path established by your Area to elevate the SCR to Area leadership: caseworker to DM; DM to Area Technical Advisor (TA); TA to both Area Deputies. Area leadership will approve/reject the SCR and ensure reconciliation with the Bi-Weekly SCR prepared for Directors PGLD and GLDS.

2. Format for reporting

Use the most recent PGLD Sensitive Case Report form.

Complete the SCR as stated below:

Requester Name: Enter the name of the individual making the request and their association. Example: J. Smith, Reporter USA Today, or J. Smith IRS Territory Mgr. If the requester does not have an association, and then enter “(Self)”.
Case Number: Enter AFOIA case number.
Sensitive Case Criteria: Check applicable box. Additional information will be included in the Case Summary. See Criteria for initiating an SCR below.
Disclosure Received Date: Enter the date the request was received in Disclosure. Where there is a substantial difference between this date and the date when the report is completed, please provide an explanation for the delay in the Case Summary section of the report.
Due Date: Enter the original due date
Case Summary: Enter a brief description of the issue(s) in the case (do not include an entire history sheet of the case). Do not use abbreviations and consider the audience. Do not include names unless the specific names are part of what makes the request sensitive. Be succinct.
Action Plan: Enter a brief explanation of the recent activity and a plan of action. (Do not include an entire history sheet of the case.)
Submitted By: Enter caseworker Name
Date: Enter date SCR completed

Remember, a SCR should be a summary of a case and case activity. The report should be no longer than 1(one) page. Upload the completed SCR to the Research Folder in AFOIA.

3. Criteria for initiating an SCR

Employees should exercise good judgment in determining whether a SCR should be prepared. SCRs are used to notify top management of FOIA requests and actions being taken that are sensitive in nature prior to hearing about them externally. The report template breaks the criteria down to two categories as follows:

a) Likely to attract media or Congressional attention

Does the case involve a taxpayer with a recognizable name, such as a politician, an entertainer, or a professional athlete and the actions on the case may be publicized or result in a contact to the PGLD Director or higher? Could IRS actions in the case attract attention because of the nature of the taxpayer’s business? Could the taxpayer’s actions, such as contacting a Member of Congress draw attention to the case?

Is the request for information related to, or from, any member or committee of Congress? Is the request from a major news media outlet? Is the request from or concerning persons, entities, issues or programs that might generate media attention?

b) Unique or novel issue

Is the case novel or unusual in some way? Does the case fall outside of the other criteria, but is worth elevating for some reason? A case under these criteria should be accompanied by a brief explanation of why it is unique. Provide this explanation in the Case Summary section of the SCR report.
Is the request for information that may have national political implications, usually from organizations known to have national political influence or represent major political parties? Is the request for information about an IRS or Chief Counsel executive, other than the PIL or Oath of Office? For example: a request for copies of the Commissioner’s Travel Vouchers. Is the request from NTEU (or other national union, such as AFGE) for information on a national policy or program?

SCR Template

25 – PGLD SCR Template (Jan 2016)

Origin

Along with other document, I was able to get the email chain regarding the creation of the SCR list. You will find the more important parts of the exchanges below:

The attachment included on this email was the above mentioned list.

The post Sensitive Case Reports (SCRs) Regarding FOIA Requests at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) first appeared on The Black Vault.

IRS Spoof Video of Donald Trump and ‘The Apprentice’

John Greenewald — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 08:50:23 +0000

Background

The Internal Revenue Service created a video parody of Donald Trump’s television show “The Apprentice” which was broadcast at a 2011 conference held by the IRS’s Small Business/Self-Employed Division (SB/SE).

The video features a group of IRS employees impersonating contestants on the program and one impersonating Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and contestants of the competition show.

The video was obtained via a Freedom of Information Act Request by The Black Vault, and still outstanding on the FOIA request, are documents relating to the budget, drafts or the scripts, outtakes, etc. This page will be updated, as those documents come in.

FOIA Response dated December 15, 2016 [1 Pages, 0.5MB]

Responsive Records / Emails / Budgets Released April 12, 2017 [41 Pages, 3.9MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/irs/irs-apprentice-emailsbudgets.pdf

The post IRS Spoof Video of Donald Trump and ‘The Apprentice’ first appeared on The Black Vault.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Internal FOIA Status Reports

John Greenewald — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 21:47:04 +0000

Background

Enacted in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, gives any person the right to access federal agency records or information. The FOIA is based on the presumption that the government and its information belong to the people.

A 1996 amendment to the FOIA, required federal agencies to make many types of records available online.

Internally, agencies produce reports that offer other FOIA staff members status updates, reports, statistics, etc. about the ongoing effort to deal with the onslaught of FOIA Requests they receive from the public.

In November of 2016, I requested all internal FOIA Status Reports from the IRS, for the years 2015 and 2016. I was surprised to receive nearly 8,000 pages of responsive records!

I have archived them below for reference. This is a very large data dump, so it is very difficult to truly break it all down and index, but this should give you a starting point. Not all PDF files are currently searchable.

Currently, the contents are organized exactly how they were given to me and in the same format.

Document Archive

FOIA Response

IRS FOIA Response for Case #17307-0087 [2 Pages, 0.5MB]

The post Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Internal FOIA Status Reports first appeared on The Black Vault.

IRS Congressional Liaison Officer Leonard Oursler Emails Regarding Donald Trump (October 2016 – February 2017)

John Greenewald — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 21:53:19 +0000

Background

According to the IRS:

Leonard Oursler began his service with the IRS in October of 1997. His first position was leading a newly formed Congressional Outreach team in Legislative Affairs. In 2001 Leonard became the Chief of the Congressional Affairs Branch of Legislative Affairs. The Congressional Affairs Branch is responsible for coordinating all outreach activity with Congress and all activity on Congressional hearings. Congressional Affairs also advises all levels of the Agency on appropriate strategies for working Congressional issues. The Branch also directs all congressional activity of Governmental Liaisons.

Prior to moving to the IRS, Leonard worked 15 years on Capitol Hill. While on Capitol Hill, Leonard spent 12 years working with the Democratic floor staff in the Senate where he advised Senators, senior staff, White House and agency officials, the press and advocacy group representatives on Senate floor activity, legislative procedures and Democratic strategy. Working in the Senate was an exciting opportunity offering valuable insight to the legislative process.

The Senate is also where Leonard met his wife who was a member of the staff of Senator Lowell Weicker R-Ct. Leonard was born in Washington DC and currently lives in Maryland. He has three children: ages 14, 11 and 7. Upon completion of CDP, Leonard will begin his assignment as SPEC Area 2 Director, Cincinnati, Ohio.

In October of 2016, I requested a search of all of Mr. Oursler’s emails, that contained the keyword “TRUMP.” In January of 2017, I received the first batch of emails. I then requested again for emails created after the October date (obviously to include post election responsive records) and then received those as well on February 3, 2017.

You can find the responsive records below.

Document Archive

I combined both requests into one PDF, for ease of downloading and viewing.

IRS Congressional Liaison Officer Leonard Oursler Emails Regarding Donald Trump (October 2016 – February 2017) [60 Pages, 3.6MB]

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The post IRS Congressional Liaison Officer Leonard Oursler Emails Regarding Donald Trump (October 2016 – February 2017) first appeared on The Black Vault.

Inside the IRS E-Mails: Abolish the IRS

John Greenewald — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 07:24:48 +0000

Background

One interesting use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), is crafting the request to search for certain keywords, sent to and/or from government officials.

For example, in 2015, when the Republican Presidential primary was at it’s peak, the abolishment of the IRS became a hot topic.

So, interested to see what the IRS was talking about internally, I requested a search of the following IRS official emails regarding the discussion of such a thing, on November 8, 2015.

I requested the search be conducted on the following IRS individuals: