SEAN HANNITY

Wednesday, May 22nd

Charge It To America The IRS has rightly been under a lot of heat lately. The targeting of conservative groups, or any group of Americans for that matter, should be an outrage to all Americans regardless of political affiliation. In light of scandals like this, the seemingly unchecked power of government and its employees is coming to light, and it doesn't look good for big government. How else can you explain stories like this one. Entrusted with a government credit card, an IRS worker allegedly used taxpayer money for years, engaging in Amazon.com shopping sprees that netted her hundreds of items. Yetunde Oseni, 37, was named this month in a U.S. District Court felony complaint charging her with embezzling government funds. Oseni has worked since 2000 as a secretary in an IRS office in Lanham, Maryland. The fact that a government employee felt they could get away with spending your tax dollars like this is appalling. I wonder how many more cases like this occur throughout our mas sive, bloated government bureaucracy costing you, the taxpayers, thousands and thousands of dollars. For more on this, click here.   DOJ Target Expands In 2007, now White House press propagandist Jay Carney said that president Bush held open contempt for the press and that ultimately backfired on him. Contempt is one thing, but this current administration is now in the practice of criminalizing the press for doing its job. I wonder if Jay Carney believes that will backfire? The administration's targeting of Fox News' Chief Washington correspondent James Rosen is chilling, to say the list. Beyond the fact that the Department of Justice pulled phone records, private emails and tracked his movements, the frightening fact is that this administration has labeled him as a “co-conspirator” for simply doing his job: Reporting. This is unheard of and down-right chilling. For a while now I've said that journalism is all-but dead, but that was because of what I perceived as the media's infatuation with Obama. They didn't seem interested in really digging in, asking the tough questions, but instead they formed a protective barrier around the president. Now it seems as though the administration itself could play a hand in the death of the media, threatening criminal charges against members of the media for doing what they are there to do. This is a constitutionally protected right that is suddenly under assault by an administration so desperate to maintain power. What is a large part of maintaining power? Controlling the message. Perhaps we are seeing the worst scenario unfold on that front. For more on my coverage of this story, check out Hannity.com.

IRS Official Invokes the Fifth Amendment Today there was another hearing in Congress related to the IRS targeting of conservative groups. Among those brought in to testify on the practice was Lois Lerner, the woman directly in charge of the division which engaged in the practice of targeting conservative groups. After reading a statement saying, “I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws,” Lerner then invoked her Fifth Amendment right. In other words, she refused to answer any questions from Congress. Ironic, isn't it, that the woman in charge of the office responsible for demanding invasive answers of conservative groups is now refusing to answer questions? As for the White House, their response on this issue as of yesterday was to blame the media! Jay Carney blamed the media for not asking the right questions in order to get the information they were seeking. Unbelievable. For more coverage on this, check out Hannity.com.   Today's "Hot Topic" From the Hannity Forums The True Cost of Government - Posted by Long Island Bob Wanna know what's really scary? The lowest official Federal income tax rate is 10% (of everything you make above some rough estimate of the poverty rate.) Your employers share of SS and medicare taxes is 6.2% plus 1.45%. Your normal share of SS and medicare taxes is 6.2% plus 1.45%. (Poverty shmoverty, You owe that on every dollar you make even if you live below poverty). That's 25.3%. Then there are state income taxes, (here in NY, minimum 4% of everything above the poverty rate) and sales taxes, (8.625% where I live) That's 37.9% (When you back out the "everything below the poverty rate" exception even the most impoverished are paying 23.9%.) Now consider property taxes, gas taxes, cigarette taxes, cell phone taxes, cable taxes, penalties, taxes on healthcare devices, parking tickets, park entry fees, etc. etc.. The lowest-paid American is paying well above 37.9% of everything he makes above the poverty level to the government. The impoverished are paying abo ve 23.9%!! Does the government really provide you with 37.9% of all the good stuff in your life? Does it provide you with 23.9%?? I mean it's great that air travelers can have subsidized air traffic controllers, and Bert and Ernie are great too. It's great the Bill Gates will get SS and subsidized medicare but 37.9%? On the working poor????? C'mon. >>TV Tonight (9pm ET on Fox News) Rep. Darrell Issa weighs in on the latest IRS scandal.