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The Internal Revenue Service, the much-feared federal agency, has been ordered by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., toopen its records to groups victimized by its obstruction of conservative political activist groups seeking tax-exempt status prior to the 2012 election.

The order came in a case brought by the American Center for Law and Justice on behalf of some of thetargeted organizations.

ACLJ said ina report on itswebsitethe ruling stated the groups are entitled to seek additional information about the IRSs targeting scheme.

Like the D.C. Circuit, which previously rejected the IRSs position essentially a just trust us plea without the evidence necessary to back it up the district court rightly confirmed that the IRS may no longer hide behind its unsupported assertions but instead must turn over information about its discriminatory treatment of these organizations.

Your one-stop recourse for the best books on economics, from The American Dream Under Fire to End the IRS Before It Ends Us and Godonomics, is the WND Superstore.

ACLJ said it will now be able to dig in to discover the IRSs past acts of alleged discrimination stemming from the alleged illegal targeting scheme, as well as the current status of the [IRSs] tax-exemption application process, in order to determine not only the entire scope of the IRSs discriminatory treatment of these organizations but, more importantly, whether any such discrimination is continuing to affect the groups, including one group of citizens that has a pending application for tax-exempt status and will therefore be subjected to whatever policies and practices the IRS is currently using to make tax-exemption determinations.

The bad news for the IRS comes in a case in which an appellate court criticized the agency.

WND reported in August 2016 the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to let the agency off the hook. It ruled that the IRS did, in fact, discriminate against tea party groups and that its word was not enough. Ithad to prove it had halted the negative actions.

The Washington Times at the timedescribed the ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as a rebuke.

The higher court ordered the case, launched on behalf of 41 organizations the IRS had targeted, back to the district court, and the IRS sought to dismiss the case.

The judge wasnt convinced.

While it has taken far longer than it should have for them to get here (several years of waiting for determinations, plus nearly four years of litigation), these organizations are, at long last, poised to pull back the curtain behind which the IRS has been hiding, discover the full extent of the IRSs discrimination against them, and ensure that it is finally brought to an end, ACLJ said.

What do YOU think?Why is John Koskinen still head of the IRS? Sound off in todays WND poll!

In a commentary Monday on FoxNews.com, ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow wrote that the IRS official in charge of the tax-exempt division at the center of the scandal, Lois Lerner, got off easy.

She was never prosecuted. She was permitted to retire with a taxpayer funded pensions.

He pointed out, as WND reported, GOP lawmakers are urging the Trump Justice Department to review evidence that Lerner engaged in criminal misconduct by targeting tea-party and conservative groups for their political beliefs.

Sekulow said notonly should Lerner be held accountable, We have repeatedly called for the removal of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

He said the most recent court order was encouraging, as it means, We will be able to obtain critical documents from the IRS documents that will be instrumental in determining how this scandal unfolded and who was involved.

He cited former PresidentObamas claimed that there was not a smidgeon of corruption at the IRS, calling it an assertion [that] was never based on facts.

When the casewas at the appeals court, Judge David B. Sentelle said the IRS still was causing troublebecause some organizations were still awaiting approval years after they applied.

ACLJsaid last week an organization from Washington state finally got its tax-exempt status,seven years after making the request.

It was revealed that IRS agency workers at the time deliberately delayed processing tax-exemption applications for some groups that clearly were opposed to Obamas agenda.

The IRS investigators asked invasive questions, such as the subject of group members prayers. They also tried to coerce groups to promisethey would drop their opposition to the Planned Parenthood abortion business agenda.

WND reported a year ago Sentelle had noted the IRS actions intruded upon the constitutional rights of tea-party groups by delaying their applications for nonprofit status, and by asking questions that went above and beyond what was necessary to process their paperwork.

Its hard to find the IRS to be an agency we can trust, Sentelle said at the time.

The IRS inspector general confirmed the allegations that hundreds of conservative groups were targeted.

ACLJ has explained a lower court had dismissed the constitutional violation claims of the groups, opining that there was no remedy that the court could provide for the IRSs misconduct.

The appeals court then took an interest in what was going on.

Your one-stop recourse for the best books on economics, from The American Dream Under Fire to End the IRS Before It Ends Us and Godonomics, is the WND Superstore.

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Stunner! Tea-party groups to see IRS records - WND.com

Activist Debbie Dooley has some choice words for individuals who believe that fossil fuels have no impact on the environment. If you think fossil fuel is not damaging the environment, she says, pull your car in a garage, start up your engine, and inhale the exhaust fumes for a few minutes and see what happens.

You could be forgiven for suspecting that Dooley might be a Democrat. According to a Gallup poll conducted last year, 85 percent of Democrats believe humans are contributing to increases in global temperature. But shes not. Dooley is a conservative, gun-owning Trump supporter who also happens to be a co-founder of the Tea Party.

Dooley runs Conservatives for Energy Freedom, where she advocates for the expansion of renewable energy and for cuts to government regulations she believes hinder that growth. Through her efforts, she has even won over unlikely allies such as Al Gore.

According to Dooley, the problem with her fellow conservatives is that they've been brainwashed for decades into believing we're not damaging the environment. As a result, Dooley speaks with them about renewable energy in a political language conservatives respect, using phrases like energy freedom, energy choice, and national security.

When speaking to conservatives in these terms, you have a receptive audience and they will listen to you, Dooley says. If you lead off with climate change, they're not going to pay a bit of attention to anything else you say.

Watch this episode of Vox Voices to learn more about how Dooleys discusses the environment with fellow conservatives and why she thinks caring for the environment is not necessarily anti-Republican.

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I'm a Tea Party conservative. Here's how to win over Republicans on renewable energy. - Vox

In a cramped warehouse on the banks of the flooded River Neris in a tranquil part of the Lithuanian capital, Jonas Ohman and his crew are loading unmarked boxes and bags onto a truck destined for the front in eastern Ukraine, more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away.

The Swedish volunteer heads the so-called Blue-Yellow Movement, which helps Ukrainian government forces in their struggle against pro-Russian rebels by supplying non-lethal military aid, such as night-vision goggles, helmets, bullet-proof vests and telescopic sniper sights. They even pack colorful teddy bears for children to help ease everyday life in the devastated region.

"If we don't help stop the Russians in Ukraine, they will eventually come to get us too," he says, while trying to answer one of the calls for aid from the front and check whether previous supplies had arrived.

Recent heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine has again reminded the world of the bleeding conflict, but many in the Baltic states are only too aware of the clashes that are causing death, suffering and devastation.

According to U.N. figures, the conflict has cost almost 10,000 lives, including civilians, Ukrainian soldiers and rebels, and more than 22,000 have been injured.

Since the conflict began, millions of euros have been pumped into Ukraine by Lithuania and smaller amounts from other Baltic states, with regular fund raising events and government aid. Hundreds of wounded soldiers are treated at Lithuanian hospitals, and children from the war zone are brought to schools in the Baltic country.

Lithuania has no border with Ukraine, but like its Baltic neighbors it shares a frontier with Russia in this case, the exclave of Kaliningrad, which Moscow uses as a major Baltic military base. Although this border is less than 300 kilometers long, Lithuania like Latvia and Estonia has bitter memories of five decades of Soviet occupation and holds a deep distrust of Moscow despite its 13-year membership in NATO since regaining independence in the wake of the 1991 Soviet collapse. Lithuanians fear the conflict could prefigure Russian ambitions to forcefully retake them.

Meanwhile Ohman, who has visited the front several times, ensures the aid keeps flowing "directly to the soldiers and units, who need it badly."

"We have worked in Ukraine for several years now. We know the needs, who needs it and how to provide it," Ohman told The Associated Press before leaving on another trip there. "Ukrainian people are very happy when we come. Even though we may not have much stuff, they are thankful not just for aid but also for the attention."

The Lithuanian government is aware of the group's activities none of which is thought to be illegal.

Though rules governing exports are complicated and vary from country to country, there is technically no international embargo that prevents these items from being distributed in Ukraine, especially as they are donations. The respected Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, which researches global arms issues, said what the volunteers are doing is probably legal.

Another volunteer, Kotryna Stasinskaite, said she's noticed that people in other parts of Ukraine are not showing much interest in the struggle.

"I saw lots of happy, rich people in the streets of Kiev and they were obviously not concerned about all the violence and the tragedy happening in their own country," she said.

However, studies seem to indicate that the Blue-Yellow volunteers are not alone in their mission.

A survey by pollster Rait in December indicated that 63 percent of Lithuanians support efforts in helping Ukraine, and a recent charity concert raised more than 110,000 euros. The government has helped, too, with more than 8.5 million euros aid to Ukraine, according to Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius.

"A common historical past bonds the people of Lithuania and Ukraine very closely. We are united by a common struggle for independence and the same challenges," he said.

"We will continue to help Ukraine to become a thriving European country it is the aim of the whole of the Western world."

Lithuanian officials and specialists constantly travel between Vilnius and eastern Ukraine.

Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis, who visited in January, assured Ukrainians that Lithuania would continue supporting its resistance against Russian separatist aggression and provide practical support for defense reforms.

"I was met with the warmest gratitude for all the support their country has received during the war against Russia," Karoblis told the AP. "It was also important to hear reassurances that they would provide the same assistance if Lithuania was in need."

He said a major reason for his nation's support to Ukraine is that Lithuania has a long history of fighting for its own freedom. "We take it as our concern and duty to help other nations in their struggle," he said.

Ukrainian Army Lt. Oleksander Valevich was severely concussed during heavy shelling and later was sent to Lithuania. He and other Ukrainian soldiers are being treated in Druskininkai, a luxurious resort amid pines and pristine lakes in southern Lithuania.

He now feels like he's the luckiest man on Earth.

"We used to be one state a long time ago. Later, we were separated, but I feel that Lithuania is still our soul brother," he said. "It took our pain and cares just like brothers," he said, with tears welling in his eyes.

Vitnija Saldava contributed to this report from Vilnius.

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Lithuanian volunteers help soldiers in eastern Ukraine - ABC News

The last two months have not been easy for Andrey Artemenko.

On Feb. 19, the right-wing Ukrainian member of parliament was sucked into the scandal surrounding President Donald Trump and his alleged ties to Russia when the New York Times reported that Artemenko had served as a back channel between Moscow and Trump associates.

In the aftermath of the report, Artemenko was forced out of his political faction in Ukraine, the far-right Radical Party, and the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine has opened an investigation into whether his diplomatic outreach, which was done without Kievs approval, constitutes treason.

Despite the political firestorm, Artemenko is still shopping his proposal in Washington and insists that now is the time to find a resolution to the nearly three-year war in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 10,000 lives. In an interview with Foreign Policy, Artemenko denied any connections between him and the Kremlin, praised the early stages of the Trump presidency, and rebuffed elements of the Times report, saying he was unfairly caught up in a fight between the U.S. president and the liberal media. The lawmaker also accused Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of not being interested in ending the war in the Donbass and said he was using Russia as an excuse to scapegoat his critics.

Anyone who has a personal opinion in Ukraine is automatically named a Russian spy, Artemenko said. But I dont have any connections to Russia. Thats why Im trying to involve the Trump administration on this issue and not the Kremlin.

Artemenkos peace plan episode is just one small part of a rapidly mushrooming investigation in Washington over possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence to tilt the 2016 U.S. presidential election in Trumps favor. But its also emblematic of another political fight unfolding against the backdrop of U.S. politics: the power struggle for the future of Ukraine.

Since the 2014 Maidan revolution that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, Washington has played an outsized role in Ukrainian domestic politics, where recognition and support from influential U.S. figures can make or break a politicians career back home. The importance of these ties has taken on a new but uncertain dimension since the election of Trump in November 2016; a lack of clarity about the administrations policies toward Kiev has been both a source of anxiety and opportunity for Ukraines political class.

With key policy positions still unfilled at the State Department, many high-profile Ukrainians have sought back channels to the Trump administration to push for a solution to the war in Ukraine.

Thats what Artemenko apparently did to pitch his loosely defined plan, which calls for Russian separatists to return eastern territory to Kiev, and the holding of a national referendum on leasing Crimea to Russia for an undetermined amount of time.

Maybe its dual management of Crimea, or maybe its a lease like the Panama Canal and Hong Kong, said Artemenko, who prefers to call his proposal a road map for peace rather than a set plan. It should be obvious that there is no military solution, only a diplomatic one.

Tall and brawny, Artemenko is a populist politician with ties to the far-right Ukrainian military-political group Right Sector and a member of the pro-Western opposition parliamentary coalition led by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenkos party. In Kiev, hes known for being outspoken and politically ambitious.

The lawmaker also professes an affinity for Trump, saying he wants to make Ukraine great again and has been trying to make inroads with the real estate mogul since he was a presidential candidate. In July 2016, Artemenko traveled to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention and later attended Trumps inauguration in January.

Artemenko used these connections in late January to arrange a meeting with Michael Cohen, Trumps longtime personal lawyer who currently works at the Republican National Committee, to pass his peace plan to Mike Flynn, who served about three weeks as Trumps national security advisor. Flynn was forced to resign in early February over a separate Russia-related controversy, but the Times reported that Cohen said he had hand-delivered the plan in a sealed envelope to the now former national security advisor.

Artemenko confirmed to FP that Trump associate Felix Sater had arranged a meeting with Cohen and that he was told details of the plan were relayed to Flynn, although he says no physical documents were passed at the sit-down in Manhattan.

The Kremlin denied any knowledge of the plan, and Cohen walked backhis initial comments, saying he hadnt delivered the plan to Flynn or discussed it with anyone in the White House. The Times has stood by its reporting.

The Times also reported that Artemenko said he received encouragement for his plans from top aides to Mr. Putin and that he emerged from the opposition nurtured in Ukraine by Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign manager who previously worked as political operative in Ukraine.

Artemenko told FP that he had no contacts with any Russian officials and has never met or dealt with Manafort. Trumps former campaign manager made millions of dollarsin assisting the rise of Yanukovych and lobbied for several pro-Kremlin causes in Washington.

Artemenko insists that his intentions in pushing a peace plan for Ukraine are in the countrys best interests. But political observers see his freelance diplomacy as part of a rising groundswell in Kiev against Poroshenko by opposition forces ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2019.

Alliances are shifting in Ukraine right now against Poroshenko, said Balazs Jarabik, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All this diplomatic maneuvering in Washington needs to be viewed through this lens.

Artemenko has emerged as a vocal critic of Poroshenko and says he has evidence showing corruption by the Ukrainian president. Moreover, Artemenko claims to have offered to organize a meeting between Trump and Valeriy Chaly, Ukraines ambassador to Washington, during the campaign. Chaly refused, Artemenko told FP, saying the Ukrainian government was backing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at the time.

They said they didnt want to meet Mr. Trump, Artemenko said.

The Ukrainian Embassy has denied the charges and said it did not support any candidate in the U.S. election.

Frustration at the slow pace of change in Ukraine has seen Poroshenkos approval ratings plummet, allowing rivals to try to fill the void. Artemenko, who is a staunch ally of Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, a former head of Ukraines security service with lofty political ambitions, has aligned himself with other West-leaning populists like Tymoshenko. While its not saying much, shes currently Ukraines most popular politician, with polls showing about 18 percent support for her party.

Tymoshenko carried out some freelance diplomacy of her own on Feb. 2 when the former prime minister metTrump in Washington, before ever meeting Poroshenko or speaking with him on the phone. The conversation, which took place at the National Prayer Breakfast, was reportedly short and consisted of her seeking assurances that the Trump administration would not abandon Ukraine or lift sanctions on Russia. But the meetings worked to send a message back home that Tymoshenko was ascendant.

Despite the backlash he has faced, Artemenko is still optimistic about his proposal, saying he has discussed it with the office of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who has sponsored a resolution reaffirming support for Ukraine and outlining measures to stop the conflict. Artemenko says elements of his plan influenced the Portman measure. A spokesperson from Portmans office confirmed meeting Artemenko but told FP that his peace plan is not part of the resolution.

Back in Kiev, Artemenko has his sights on the upcoming elections, saying he will continue to push for a resolution to the war in the Donbass and that he plans to start his own political party.

I am clear and sure that I am going the right way, Artemenko said.

Photo credit:Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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Ukraine's Back-Channel Diplomat Still Shopping Peace Plan to ... - Foreign Policy (blog)

Moldovas first African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak in 2017 was reported recently in a backyard farm in Rublenitsa village, Soroca district, in northern Moldova. The country points to Ukraine as the source of the virus.

The outbreak, discovered in mid-March, affected seven pigs, according to the countrys National Agency for Food Security.

Vsevolod Stomaty, the head of the National Agency for Food Security, told the regional media Sputnik that presumably the new outbreak is related to infected products, delivered from Ukraine. The situation was very similar to what happened last year, when the first outbreaks of the disease in the country could be explained by the human factor and problems with ASF in Ukraine.

The National Agency for Food Security said that some Moldova citizens consumed infected pig meat in Ukraine, and had subsequently travelled into Moldova, bringing in the virus on their hands and clothes. Stomaty did not disclose exact details as to how he thought the virus had been imported into the country.

Officially, pig and pork imports from Ukraine into Moldova are forbidden. Nevertheless, there is quite a lot of illegal cross-border traffic. There are known cases of customs staff discovering trucks trying to bring in pig-derived produce into Moldova from time to time.

Stomaty feared that the spread of the virus in the country might bring enormous problems for pig producers. He said that his service set up a quarantine area in Rublenitsa village, where 17 pig farms with 3,000 pigs are located. The restrictive measures, associated with a quarantine, could impact the regional trade, because the village supplies pork to all over the region, including to the city of Soroca.

Photo: Vincent ter Beek

At the same time, the situation regarding the spread of ASF in the country is under personal supervision of the Moldova prime minister Pavel Filip, Stomaty indicated - as this is a real threat for the countrys pig farmers. He stated that Moldova now accounts for nearly 500,000 pigs in total and the consequences of the virus spreading across the country could be very serious.

Speaking at a press conference in Chisinau a month before, Stomaty stressed that the first outbreaks of ASF were reported in the country in 2016, and which had withdrawn any export potential for Moldovas pig industry. He expressed hopes that in the future the country would be able to restore exports, saying that this would require the absence of new outbreaks until the end of 2017.

Stomaty emphasised that Moldova faces a huge ASF threat further penetrating into the country through its neighbour Ukraine. He recalled that since the beginning of the year there were nearly 162 outbreaks of the disease on the east border, claiming that in fact almost every day new outbreaks could be registered, including in the bordering Vinnitsa region.

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Moldova complains about ASF threat from Ukraine - Pig Progress (registration) (blog)