Nikki Haley fighting back after nonprofit's tax filings leaked to Politico: 'This is a federal tax crime'

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Nikki Haley vows lawsuit, calls for DOJ to investigate leak of tax information

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on her plans to sue over leaked tax information from her organization

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Tuesday on "America's Newsroom" that the Justice Department must investigate the leak of her nonprofit's tax filings.

Politico recently published information about donors who had made anonymous contributions to Haley’s advocacy group, Stand for America Inc. The 2019 IRS filing had been obtained by a watchdog group called Documented, and shared with Politico. 

Haley said the filing published by Politico showed that it came from someone in the New York State Attorney General's Office.

"We're going to fight this. And we are filing a lawsuit against the New York State Attorney General's Office. We are going to Merrick Garland and saying this is a federal tax crime, and we want him to investigate that office," she told Dana Perino, expressing doubt that Garland will take action.

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The former South Carolina governor previously argued the move was a bid to intimidate conservative donors.

In 2021, she set up Stand for America PAC – a separate entity from the advocacy group – which describes itself as "laser-focused on the 2022 midterms and electing a conservative force to the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to counter the liberal agendas of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi."

Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland is sworn in during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feb. 22, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Haley said these types of leaks don't happen to liberal organizations.

"You don't see leaks coming out of the ACLU. You don't see leaks coming out of Planned Parenthood. You only see these things happening to conservatives that they perceive to be a threat."

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Haley said there is no excuse for this "lawlessness." 

"We're not going to throw cotton balls at them. We're going to throw a grenade, and we're going to make sure that they know enough is enough," Haley emphasized.

Politico defended the move by stating that the information would show who is trying to influence the political system and said the reporting is "fully protected by the First Amendment."

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report