CEA Asks IRS to Screw Buckeye Institute, Bill Todd

Woooooeeeee! It's October 1st, so that means it's time for stuff to get fun. And boy oh boy, this one's fun. As reported earlier today, tomorrow Rhonda Johnson, President of the Columbus Education Association (CEA), is convening a press conference to respond to Bill Todd's political posturing lawsui Brown v. somethin' or other. What will that response be?

Well, the CEA is officially requesting the Internal Revenue Service investigate into alleged political coordination between the conservative Buckeye Institute and Bill Todd's campaign for mayor (allegations might I point out which are sourced in the letter to BSB, and which were first reported here). Per the CEA's press release:

The Internal Revenue Code places an absolute prohibition on 501(c)(3) non-profits such as the Buckeye Institute participating or intervening in the political process. CEA points to the following as evidence of apparently illegal participation and intervention in the political process:

Political lawsuit coordination. In two Associated Press articles, as well as a Columbus Dispatch article, Bill Todd admits to developing and basing his political lawsuit and campaign positions on research coordinated with the Buckeye Institute.

Media rollout coordination. The research in question was timed for release the same week Todd filed his lawsuit and was not publically available until after the lawsuit was filed.

Material coordination. Todd’s lawsuit was provided to and actively promoted by the Buckeye Institute via their website, though copies of the lawsuit were not available to the general public from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas during the same timeframe.

The petition seeks an injunction on further participation and/or intervention; assessing of excise taxes; and possible revocation of Buckeye Institute’s non-profit status.

And I can't wait to hear the Republicans squeal like pigs on this one. But as Rhonda Johnson says, "No one is above the law, especially when it comes to our elections...Bill Todd has a history of skirting the edge of our election laws and just may have crossed the line this time.” Good luck to both Todd and the Buckeye Institute on beating these charges, you'll need it.

And here's the full letter to the IRS:

You can download it here.