Dr. Ben Carson Targeted by IRS, Big Three Networks Censor

On October 1 the Washington Times reported that Dr. Ben Carson revealed he had his first ever encounter with the IRS after he delivered a speech critical of public policy in front of Barack Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast back in February. So far ABC, CBS and NBC have yet to report on this stunning revelation. In fact they’ve stopped reporting on the IRS scandal altogether.

It’s been 99 days since ABC last mentioned the IRS targeting scandal, way back on June 26. NBC hasn’t touched the story in 98 days and CBS last did an IRS story 70 days ago on July 24.

On Tuesday the Times’ Douglas Ernst relayed the following: “Dr. Ben S. Carson went years without ever having a run-in with the Internal Revenue Service. But his good fortune changed after his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in February, the former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon said Monday night at an event with business leaders and elected officials in Alabama.

“Alabama’s Yellow Hammer News tweeted Dr. Carson’s remarks from the annual Business Council of Alabama Chairman’s Dinner: ‘I had my first encounter with the IRS this year, unsurprisingly after the Prayer Breakfast.’”

On Thursday Dr. Carson elaborated on his run-in with the IRS as he told the Washington Times that: “I guess it could be a coincidence, but I never had been audited before and never really had any encounters with the IRS. But it certainly would make one suspicious because we know now the IRS has been used for political purposes and therefore actions like this come under suspicion.”

The Times’ John Solomon, in the October 3 story, went on to report the following: “Dr. Carson told The Times that IRS agents contacted him in June — less than four months after the speech — and requested to review his real estate holdings. After finding nothing that concerned them, the agents then informed him they were conducting a full audit of his finances, and then asked to go back an additional year to review his records, he said. They finally ended the review in August after finding no problems, Dr. Carson said. ‘They told me everything was in good standing and left,’ he said. Asked whether he thought the audit was a retaliation for his speech, Dr. Carson quipped: ‘I guess I'm surprised it took them that long.’ He said the more serious issue is that the IRS has been politicized — ‘something that should never have happened’ — and that leaves all of its activities open to suspicion.”
 
>> To read more on how the Big Three networks have censored the IRS scandal, check our ongoing tracking <<

— Geoffrey Dickens is Deputy Research Director at the Media Research Center. Follow Geoffrey Dickens on Twitter.