Conservative Group Just Dragged the IRS Into Court for This One Devastating Reason That Has Obama Fuming

The Obama administration’s IRS scandal was supposed to be ancient history.

They thought they’d gotten away with it after all these years.

But now one conservative group just dragged the IRS into court for this one devastating reason that has Obama fuming.

The weapon used to target conservatives is still loaded and ready to fire

Here’s what the mainstream media won’t tell you about the infamous IRS targeting scandal that rocked Barack Obama’s presidency.

While everyone was focused on Lois Lerner taking the Fifth and Obama firing a few fall guys, the real weapon used to crush conservative groups was quietly left in place.

And that weapon is about to be used again.

Freedom Path, a Texas-based conservative organization, has been waging a legal battle for over 13 years that exposes the dirty truth about how the IRS continues to silence conservative voices.¹ What they uncovered will make your blood boil.

The same "Facts and Circumstances Test" that Obama’s IRS used to deny Tea Party groups their constitutional rights in 2013 is still being used today to crush conservatives who dare to speak out.

It’s like leaving a loaded gun on the table and pretending it’s safe.

Obama’s IRS crushed Freedom Path with the same illegal tactics

Freedom Path filed for nonprofit status way back in 2011, right when Obama’s IRS was in full attack mode against conservative groups.²

What happened next was a textbook case of government harassment.

The IRS dragged out Freedom Path’s application for over nine years, demanding donor lists, questioning their political activities, and using the same subjective "Facts and Circumstances Test" that had already been exposed as a tool for targeting conservatives.³

Attorney Chris Gober of Lex Politica, who represents Freedom Path, didn’t mince words about what’s really happening here.

Gober told The Federalist that the subjective test creates a chilling effect that forces conservative groups nationwide to self-censor rather than risk government retaliation.⁴

In other words, the IRS is still using fear to silence conservatives.

The smoking gun that proves Obama’s IRS never stopped targeting conservatives

Here’s the part that’ll have Obama reaching for his antacids.

In 2020 — seven years after the targeting scandal supposedly ended — the IRS finally denied Freedom Path’s application using the exact same "Facts and Circumstances Test" that was exposed as unconstitutional during the Lois Lerner hearings.⁵

Think about that for a second.

The IRS spent nearly a decade slow-walking this conservative group’s application, then used the same discredited method that sparked a national scandal to reject them.

The 11-factor test is so vague and subjective that it basically gives IRS bureaucrats a license to deny conservative groups based on their personal political opinions.⁶ One factor looks at whether communications "coincide with an electoral campaign" — which could apply to literally any political commentary during election season.

Another examines whether the group’s message "distinguishes" a candidate from others — a standard so broad it could silence any conservative criticism of Democrat politicians.

Trump’s DOJ is actually defending Obama’s IRS weapon

Here’s where this story gets really infuriating.

President Donald Trump’s own Department of Justice is defending the same "Facts and Circumstances Test" that Obama’s IRS used to target conservatives.⁷

You read that right.

Trump’s DOJ is arguing in federal court that the IRS should be allowed to keep using this subjective, politically-motivated standard to determine which groups get nonprofit status.

This case is heading back to Washington, D.C. District Judge Jia M. Cobb for a status conference, and Freedom Path is asking the court to declare the test "unconstitutionally vague."⁸

The Supreme Court already destroyed this exact same tactic

What makes this even more outrageous is that the Supreme Court already struck down an identical test when it was used by the Federal Election Commission.

In the landmark Citizens United case, Justice Anthony Kennedy condemned the FEC for creating a system that allows government officials to determine which political speech is acceptable by using vague, subjective standards that chill free expression.⁹

But the IRS just ignored that ruling and kept using their own version of the same unconstitutional test.

Freedom Path isn’t just fighting for themselves — they’re fighting to prevent the next IRS targeting scandal before it happens.

House investigators proved conservatives were singled out

Let’s not forget what congressional investigators actually found about Obama’s IRS targeting.

A 2014 House Oversight Committee report documented that after February 2010, when the new targeting criteria were implemented, zero Tea Party groups received approval while dozens of progressive organizations sailed through the process.¹⁰

Conservative attorney Cleta Mitchell, who represented eight targeted groups, said the process for conservative organizations was deliberately punitive.

"The IRS wanted every communication about ObamaCare," Mitchell revealed about one case.¹¹

Meanwhile, progressive groups sailed through the approval process without facing the same level of scrutiny.

Why this case matters for every conservative in America

Freedom Path’s lawsuit isn’t just about one Texas nonprofit.

It’s about whether the federal government can use vague, subjective standards to silence political opposition.

Chris Gober, the Harvard-trained attorney leading this fight, has built a reputation as one of the conservative movement’s top legal warriors.¹² His firm Lex Politica represents Elon Musk’s America PAC and dozens of U.S. Senators and Representatives.

The New York Times recently called Gober the "swaggering Texas-based lawyer" building a conservative legal powerhouse.¹³

And he’s taking this fight directly to the heart of the Deep State’s ability to weaponize the tax code against conservatives.

The chilling effect on conservative speech continues

The real damage from Obama’s IRS targeting wasn’t just what happened to the groups that got denied.

It was the message it sent to every other conservative organization: stay quiet or face the consequences.

Gober revealed that Freedom Path actually killed a planned TV ad supporting the repeal of ObamaCare because they weren’t sure how IRS bureaucrats would interpret it.¹⁴

That’s the whole point of using vague standards — to make conservatives censor themselves out of fear.

How many other conservative groups have stayed silent on important issues because they’re afraid of triggering an IRS investigation?

Obama’s scandal that never really ended

The truth is, the IRS targeting scandal never actually ended.

Sure, Obama fired a few people and Congress held some hearings, but the underlying weapon used to target conservatives was never taken away.

The "Facts and Circumstances Test" is still there, ready to be deployed against any conservative group that gets too effective at challenging the Democrat narrative.

And as long as it remains on the books, every conservative organization in America is vulnerable to the same harassment that Freedom Path endured for over a decade.

That’s why this lawsuit matters so much.

If Freedom Path wins, it could finally disarm the weapon that Obama’s IRS used to silence conservative voices and prevent it from ever being used again.

Sources:

1. Beth Brelje, "Lawsuit Aims To Prevent IRS From Targeting Conservative Groups Ever Again," The Federalist, July 2, 2025.
2. Freedom Path, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service, Civil Action No. 3:14-CV-1537-D.
3. "Organization Challenges Test Used to Deny Tax-Exempt Status," Tax Notes.
4. Beth Brelje, "Lawsuit Aims To Prevent IRS From Targeting Conservative Groups Ever Again," The Federalist, July 2, 2025.
5. Ibid.
6. Internal Revenue Service Revenue Ruling 2004-6.
7. Beth Brelje, "Lawsuit Aims To Prevent IRS From Targeting Conservative Groups Ever Again," The Federalist, July 2, 2025.
8. Ibid.
9. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010).
10. "FACT SHEET: Lois Lerner and the Oversight Committee Investigation of the IRS Targeting Scandal," House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, May 28, 2015.
11. "As IRS Targeted Tea Party Groups, It Went After Progressives Too," NPR, October 6, 2017.
12. "Chris Gober," Lex Politica.
13. "Musk Lawyer Tries to Build a Powerhouse Firm With a Billionaire Client," Election Law Blog, January 31, 2025.
14. Beth Brelje, "Lawsuit Aims To Prevent IRS From Targeting Conservative Groups Ever Again," The Federalist, July 2, 2025.