Write a check to Romney, get audited?

You may remember that in April an Obama campaign website called out eight businessmen who had contributed to groups supporting Romney with charges that they had "less-than-reputable" records.   For one of those businessmen was Frank VanderSloot, the story didn't stop there.  Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Strassel reports on a continuing stream of what is either (a) simple coincidences or (b) Chicago-machine-style harassment:

Just 12 days after the attack, the [Mr. VanderSloot] found an investigator digging to unearth his divorce records. This bloodhound—a recent employee of Senate Democrats—worked for a for-hire opposition research firm.

Now Mr. VanderSloot has been targeted by the federal government. In a letter dated June 21, he was informed that his tax records had been "selected for examination" by the Internal Revenue Service. The audit also encompasses Mr. VanderSloot's wife, and not one, but two years of past filings (2008 and 2009).

Mr. VanderSloot, who is 63 and has been working since his teens, says neither he nor his accountants recall his being subject to a federal tax audit before.…

Two weeks after receiving the IRS letter, Mr. VanderSloot received another—this one from the Department of Labor. He was informed it would be doing an audit of workers he employs on his Idaho-based cattle ranch under the federal visa program for temporary agriculture workers.

We sometimes think that the Supreme Court will defend our freedom of speech.  The Court, however, is inadequate to protect us from this kind of threat to our first amendment rights.

Hat tip: TaxProf and Instapundit.

PREVIOUSLY on Chicago-style ethics:
•As an attorney, Obama profited while his client went bankrupt
•Obama asks you to make sacrifices for Global Warming. But what does he do?
•Obama opposes requiring ID to vote to assure honest elections while Chicago requires a photo ID merely to buy drain cleaner