IRS watchdog cheers legal victory

The Seattle Times reports:

A Seattle federal judge has handed longtime IRS watchdog Susan Long a broad legal victory, ordering the agency to provide her with documents she claimed she was entitled to under a 30-year-old consent order. The judge also awarded attorneys fees in an amount to be determined.

Long, who started battling the Internal Revenue Service for information when she was a doctoral student at the University of Washington in the 1970s, alleged in January that the IRS was violating a 1976 consent order by withholding certain tax data. She complained the agency had knowingly failed to comply with the order, which the IRS denied.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman directed the agency to supply Long with copies of the reports she sought within two weeks, and to continue to provide her with comparable reports as long as the IRS compiles them.

Isn't it great having a monopoly.