Well, isn't that special? IRS bends over for 'Satan'

The Washington watchdog Judicial Watch revealed Thursday the IRS slashed the wait time for Satanists seeking tax-exempt status to 10 days at the same time the agency was delaying responses to Christian and "patriot" groups for years.

Records obtained by Judicial Watch from the Treasury Department show the Satanic cult applied for tax-exempt status on Oct. 21, 2014, and received it Oct. 31, 2014.

That was at a time the IRS was being sued for delaying applications of a multitude of organizations with "Christian," "Patriot" or "tea party" in their names.

WND reported last August the cases, which developed during the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, were still under way.

The agency was accused of asking improper questions, including about the religious beliefs and prayers of members; of demanding they tailor their actions to meet the IRS' pro-abortion agenda; of attacking their politics; and more.

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Last fall, a federal appeals court sent a lawsuit against the agency back to a lower court for the IRS to prove that it has stopped the targeting of tea party and other organizations.

The Washington Times at the time described the ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as a "rebuke." The court found the IRS "did, in fact, discriminate against tea party groups."

The court said tea-party groups cannot sue individual IRS workers, such as Lois Lerner, who headed the nonprofits division of the IRS at the time.

But the ruling said the IRS simply hadn't documented that it has stopped the inappropriate behavior.

Judicial Watch said an exemption was given to an "After School Satan Club" that was being established specifically to hinder a Christian organization offering activities for children.

"Under the Obama administration, IRS political appointees illegally targeted conservative groups, either making them wait up to seven years for tax-exempt status or denying their application altogether, the watchdog group said.

Judicial Watch said it "uncovered that scandal and has obtained piles of government records showing how the IRS illegally colluded with another federal agency to single out groups with conservative-sounding terms such as patriot and tea party in their titles when applying for tax-exempt status."

But at the same time, the Satan club was fast-tracked.

"The principle goal of establishing the Satan clubs in public schools throughout Washington State appears to be to counter existing enterprises operated by a Christian-based group. Documents obtained by Judicial Watch include the process of establishing an after-school Satan club at Point Defiance Elementary in Tacoma. The entity behind the club is a nonprofit called Reason Alliance, which is based in Somerville, Massachusetts, and operates in Washington State as the Satanic Temple of Seattle. Its director, Lilith X. Starr, established the Point Defiance Elementary Satanic club, the records show."

Judicial Watch said Starr also told the superintendent that the effort to establish after-school Satan clubs in Tacoma schools is in direct response to the Christian-based Good News Clubs operating in campuses throughout the district.

"This ignited concern among some Tacoma district officials, the records show. In one electronic mail exchange, Tacoma Schools official Andrea O-Brien-Henley sends colleague Paul Koch a citation from the Satanic Temple's website noting that the temple only wants to establish after-school Satan clubs in school districts with Christian Good News Clubs.

"O'Brien-Henley notes that it's odd that the Satanic Temple only targets schools that have Good News Clubs, writing to hear colleague: 'If they really want to get their message out to kids it seems kind of odd that they would only be targeting schools with a Good News Club; one would think that they would want to start clubs anywhere there is an *interest* in them.'"

The Satanists' own website declares: "Please keep in mind that the Satanic Temple is not interested in operating After School Satan Clubs in school districts that are not already hosting the Good News Club. However, The Satanic Temple ultimately intends to have After School Satan Clubs operating in every school district where the Good News Club is represented."

Judicial Watch noted that no one had shown interest in joining the club a full two weeks after it was launched.

"The fact remains however, that the IRS fast-tracked a deranged Satanic cult to operate as a nonprofit in taxpayer-funded elementary schools."

WND reported the IRS was, at the time, deliberately delayed processing applications for some groups that clearly were opposed to Barack Obama's agenda, preventing them from full participation in the electoral process.