Court orders U.S. to pay conservative group $50K

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal court has ordered the U.S. government to pay $50,000 to a conservative group that says confidential information from its tax returns about its donors was published on the website of a political opponent. The board chairman of the National Organization for Marriage said Tuesday that his group still wants to learn more about how the information from a 2008 tax form emerged from the IRS. John Eastman's group opposes same-sex marriage. The information about his organization's donors ended up being published in 2012 by the Human Rights Campaign, which supports gay rights. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a consent judgment dated Monday ordering the U.S. to pay the $50,000. IRS spokesman Bruce Friedland says privacy law prevents his agency from commenting. Published: Thu, Jun 26, 2014