(Congress Report) – Well, we’ve been witnesses to the weaponization of the FBI, but long before it was being used as a tool to intimidate conservatives into silence, the radical left was using the Internal Revenue Service. I’m talking about the targeting of conservatives by the IRS back when former President Barack Obama was running for reelection, which was a big scandal at the time that resulted in a lot of people getting fired from the agency.
However, it seems the government is back to their old tricks now, having deployed the IRS to the home of “Twitter Files” journalist Matt Taibbi, who reported on the suspiciously timed visit that just so happened to coincide with his testimony before Congress about threats to the First Amendment and censorship on social media.
Kevin Haggerty, writing for BizPac Review, reveals, “With billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform Twitter, and his personal philosophy of free speech absolutism, came the steady stream of receipts that implicated the federal government in working with Big Tech to suppress and control the flow of information regarding specific topics like the 2020 election and COVID. Those revelations were under investigation by the House Judiciary Committee before which Taibbi testified on March 9, the same day the IRS came knocking on his door.”
“First reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Editorial Board, Taibbi notified committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as soon as he became aware that the agency was auditing his 2018 and 2021 tax returns,” Haggerty continued. “According to the journalist, while he was in Washington, D.C. testifying before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, an IRS agent reportedly ventured to his home with a note informing him to call the agency four days later.”
The IRS informed the journalist that his 2018 and 2021 tax returns had been rejected over identity theft concerns, which is a point he in turn refuted by presenting proof that his 2018 return had been electronically accepted and asserted there had been no notice of any sort of issue over the course of the last 4 ½ years since the return was filed.
“Jordan asked about this in a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and the Department of Treasury, as well as the 2021 return that Taibbi said had been rejected twice,” Haggerty added.
“The bigger question is when did the IRS start to dispatch agents for surprise house calls?” the WSJ went on to pose. “Typically, when the IRS challenges some part of a tax return, it sends a dunning letter. Or it might seek more information from the taxpayer or tax preparer. If the IRS wants to audit a return, it schedules a meeting at the agent’s office. It doesn’t drop by unannounced.”
As was previously reported, Taibbi was providing testimony about how an examination of internal communications at Twitter had exposed links connecting other tech companies and several federal agencies such as the FBI and DoD.
Matt Taibbi testifies on ‘Twitter Files’: ‘This mechanism for punishment without due process is horrifying’ https://t.co/JzSP2MEmxz
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) March 9, 2023
“The same week, a report from the committee suggested the Federal Trade Commission had been harassing Twitter, seeking the names of any journalists who had been granted access to the files, or as the report stated, ‘work protected by the First Amendment, including their work to expose abuses by Big Tech and the federal government,'” BizPac Review reported.
“The curious timing of this visit, on the heels of the FTC demand that Twitter turn over names of journalists, raises questions about potential intimidation, and Mr. Jordan is right to want to see documents and communications relating to the Taibbi visit,” the Journal noted.
“The fear of many Americans is that, flush with its new $80 billion in funding from Congress, the IRS will unleash its fearsome power against political opponents,” the editorial board added in the article. “Mr. Taibbi deserves to know why the agency decided to pursue him with a very strange house call.”
Musk issued a response concerning the timing of the visit saying, “That’s very odd.”
That’s very odd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2023
Taibbi himself remarked he would not issue any comments on the situation until after Jordan received a response from the IRS.
“For those asking, I don’t want to comment on the IRS issue pending an answer to chairman @JimJordan’s letter. I’m not worried for myself, but I did feel the Committee should be aware of the situation,” he posted in a tweet.
For those asking, I don’t want to comment on the IRS issue pending an answer to chairman @Jim_Jordan’s letter. I’m not worried for myself, but I did feel the Committee should be aware of the situation.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 28, 2023
Copyright 2023. CongressReport.com
Welcome to the USSA. Courtesy of filthy rich, power hungry, control freak democrats. Ohh, umm, BTW, Obama is still calling the shots, financed by soros, because puppet biden is just too stupid. Eliminate all 3. Soros is wanted in Europe anyway.