An analysis by Pepperdine Law Professor Robert Anderson finds that 95% of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) lawyers who made donations to candidates in the 2012 presidential race gave to President Barack Obama’s campaign.
“Lawyers are relevant because they are the ones taking the lead in writing regulations, litigating cases, and making delicate legal judgment calls in borderline cases,” writes Anderson on his legal blog, Witnesseth.
Anderson says 32 times as much money flowed to “Obama as to Romney from IRS lawyers.”
He then conducted an analysis of lawyers in other agencies. The result: “the lawyers in every single federal government agency–from the Department of Education to the Department of Defense–contributed overwhelmingly to Obama compared to Romney.”
|
AGENCY
|
NUMBER OF LAWYERS CONTRIBUTING TO |
PERCENT OBAMA
|
|
|
OBAMA |
ROMNEY |
||
|
NLRB |
44 |
0 |
100.00% |
|
UNITED NATIONS |
23 |
0 |
100.00% |
|
DEPT. OF EDUCATION |
47 |
0 |
100.00% |
|
DEPT. OF LABOR |
66 |
2 |
97.06% |
|
FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER |
65 |
2 |
97.01% |
|
FINRA |
26 |
1 |
96.30% |
|
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMM. |
23 |
1 |
95.83% |
|
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY |
86 |
4 |
95.56% |
|
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION |
80 |
4 |
95.24% |
|
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE |
38 |
2 |
95.00% |
|
FDIC |
36 |
2 |
94.74% |
|
DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY |
34 |
2 |
94.44% |
|
EEOC |
32 |
2 |
94.12% |
|
DEPT. OF VETERANS AFFAIRS |
26 |
2 |
92.86% |
|
SEC |
70 |
9 |
88.61% |
|
DEPT. OF THE INTERIOR |
20 |
3 |
86.96% |
|
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION |
45 |
8 |
84.91% |
|
DEPT. OF JUSTICE |
455 |
87 |
83.95% |
|
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMIN. |
50 |
10 |
83.33% |
|
FEDERAL GOVT (UNSPECIFIED) |
289 |
74 |
79.61% |
|
U.S. ARMY |
37 |
15 |
71.15% |
|
DEPT. OF DEFENSE |
17 |
8 |
68.00% |
|
Notes: Some categories overlap. I generally coded the employer at the level of specificity the reporting person disclosed the information even if it could fall within a broader category (e.g., U.S. Attorney versus Department of Justice). Because of wide variations in spelling and terminology, some contributors were undoubtedly left out of the data. |
|||
Anderson concludes, “The root of the problem is the rule by a class of career government employee lawyers who lack the diversity of opinion that is found in the non-lawyer private sector.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.