. . . because it looks like we may have a show to watch.

A federal judge has rejected the IRS attempt to screen from public scrutiny how it has systematically targeted certain political groups for discriminatory treatment.  The group in this lawsuit is not a Tea Party related group, but a group whose mission is to educate the public on the actual state of affairs in the Middle East, particularly with reference to Muslim efforts to annihilate the state of Israel and slaughter such Jews as they can lay hands on.

Z Street applied for 501(c)(4) status in December, 2009, eleven months into the Era of Hopenchange.  In July, 2010, their counsel spoke with an IRS agent (whether he’s still employed there I’d like to know), who mentioned that the application was going slowly because it had been sent to Washington for “special scrutiny” as being connected to Israel and having views that “contradict those of the administration.”  Get that?  Express a view that Dear Leader doesn’t agree with and you get your very own set of legal rules you have to satisfy.

So Z Street sued.  The IRS took the positions that (i) it had no right to sue, and (ii) the IRS enjoys sovereign immunity.  Seriously.  They filed stuff in court that said that.

The court has now finally ruled that the IRS is talking through its hat.  The complaint squarely challenges the constitutionality of the process, the court ruled; this isn’t just some dispute about tax liability.

As The Blogfather has observed in other contexts, discovery in this one should be fascinating.