WASHINGTON – The federal government has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit by Chaka Fattah Jr., the son of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), arguing that the claims arrived too late and are based on inference, not proven fact.
The filing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania takes a dismissive approach to Fattah Jr.'s suit seeking nearly $10 million in damages for claims against the IRS, FBI, U.S. Department of Justice and United States of America, all of which are named as defendants.
"Plaintiff's amended complaint grasps at various legal theories, but they all fall short of what is required to bring a claim in federal court," says a Department of Justice filing dated Monday. "Plaintiff's claims are insufficiently supported by factual allegations."
Fattah Jr. called the government argument "without merit" and said "I will have some detail on that in my response."
Fattah Jr., who is not an attorney but brought the suit himself, has charged that the IRS or other federal agents improperly damaged his reputation and ability to earning ability by giving the Inquirer advance notice of plans for a 2012 raid on his home at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton in Center City – an incident that brought on negative news coverage. Only agents who knew about the visit, Fattah Jr. alleges, could have alerted the media. Reporters were there to snap photos as agents arrived and left.
"That supposition is not enough," to bring a lawsuit, the DOJ filing says, arguind that there is not enough hard evidence presented.
The IRS raid was part of long-running criminal and tax investigations into Fattah Jr. involving taxes and bank loans. His father, the Congressman, is also under federal investigation, though it's not clear if the two cases are related.
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