In March of this year, CREW filed a complaint with the IRS against Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and the ATR Foundation. Both groups are headed by Grover Norquist. We alleged that the groups were laundering money for clients of Jack Abramoff.

Today, the Senate Finance Committee Democrats issued a report which accuses Norquist's group and four others of "perpetrating a fraud" on taxpayers. The ranking Democrat on the Committee said the FBI and IRS should investigate the groups. The Washington Post has the story:

Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued today.

The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff routed money from his clients to the groups. In exchange the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly independent newspaper op-ed columns or press releases that favored the clients' positions.

The report also accuses the groups of laundering money:

The report states that the groups probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange or writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."

Maybe now the IRS will investigate.