(Patriot.Buzz) – Before terminating its foul practice of unscheduled home visits earlier this year, with few exceptions, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was accused of “alarming civil liberties abuses” by the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
In a report released in late October, the subcommittee outlined various abuses stemming from these unannounced visits. A notable instance involved an agent appearing outside journalist Matt Taibbi’s residence on the same day he addressed Congress about government censorship.
The IRS initiated an investigation into Taibbi three weeks after his first publication of the Twitter Files, coinciding with the release of the ninth installment. This installment exposed the collaboration of federal agencies, ranging from the State Department to the CIA, in censoring and manipulating speech on social media.
Taibbi’s 2018 tax return was scrutinized on Christmas Eve, 2022, a Saturday, despite him being owed a significant refund by the IRS. A revenue officer was assigned to Taibbi’s case on January 27, 2023, to establish direct contact. The officer compiled a comprehensive dossier on Taibbi, including details like voter registration and a concealed weapons permit.
On March 9, 2023, coinciding with Taibbi and journalist Michael Shellenberger’s congressional testimony regarding the Twitter Files, an IRS agent visited Taibbi’s home unannounced. The Select Subcommittee had discovered that the Federal Trade Commission had demanded Twitter reveal the identities of journalists with access to internal communications.
Four days later, Taibbi received a note from the IRS agent. Upon contacting the agency, Taibbi was informed of the rejection of his electronic tax filings for 2018 and 2021 due to identity theft concerns. However, Taibbi’s 2018 filing had been accepted previously, with no issues communicated to him or his accountant over four-and-a-half years. Taibbi perceived this as potential retaliation or intimidation.
The IRS, responding to the subcommittee’s inquiry on March 27, submitted 267 pages of documents on May 6. They claimed to have sent letters to Taibbi in 2019 and 2020 regarding his 2018 return, which Taibbi and his accountant never received. The subcommittee noted the absence of these letters’ proof in the documents provided.
The report condemned this “weaponized behavior” and stressed the necessity to address the dysfunction within the IRS. IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel recognized the safety risks posed by these visits and supported repealing the policy to enhance safety for taxpayers and IRS employees.
