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01-3750, 01-3751 U.S. v. Crum

By: dmc-admin//May 6, 2002//

01-3750, 01-3751 U.S. v. Crum

By: dmc-admin//May 6, 2002//

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“The Crums rely on an alleged distinction between the ‘Treasury Department’ and the ‘Department of the Treasury.’ They assert that the ‘Treasury Department’ and the ‘Department of the Treasury’ are ‘distinct statutory entities, each with a separate identity, history, stature, location, composition, function, and authority’; that Officer Dietrich is a revenue officer who works for the Department of the Treasury but not the Treasury Department; and that no statute authorizes delegation of summons authority to revenue officers of the Department of the Treasury. In an attempt to prove that the IRS is part of the ‘Department of the Treasury’ (delegation to officers of which has not been authorized) and not the ‘Treasury Department’ (to officers of which summons authority can be delegated), the Crums rely on isolated references in the Internal Revenue Code suggesting that IRS officers belong to and perform functions for the Department of the Treasury.

“This semantic argument strains credulity. It is true that there are Congressional enactments which refer to a ‘Department of the Treasury’ and others which refer to a ‘Treasury Department.’ But we are not persuaded that Congress intended to create separate departments concerning the Treasury, nor does any purpose in doing so appear. To the contrary, there is only one department and it is referred to by different names. The executive departments are listed at 5 U.S.C. sec. 101, and that list includes only the ‘Department of the Treasury.’ 31 U.S.C. sec. 301 introduces a subchapter dealing with the organization of the ‘Department of the Treasury.’ Subsection (a) says that the Department of the Treasury is an executive department, and (b) says that it is headed by the Secretary of the Treasury.”

Affirmed.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Lee, J., Fairchild, J.

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