Americans may now know why President Joe Biden wants 87,000 new IRS agents — and claims that is still insufficient.
The Wall Street Journal noted in an editorial on Monday that while journalist Matt Taibbi was testifying before the Republican-led House committee investigating the “weaponization” of the federal government, an IRS agent actually showed up at Taibbi’s house.
The Journal noted that Democrats are broadly denouncing the GOP’s investigation “because Republicans are getting somewhere.”
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In this case, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking them to explain why an IRA agent paid Taibbi an “unannounced home visit.”
Taibbi, who is not a conservative by any stretch, has nonetheless been a central figure of late in exposing the pro-Democrat corruption at Twitter.
He has been one of three reporters Twitter owner Elon Musk has trusted with sensitive internal info that showed how deep the rot goes.
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And as would be expected of the Biden administration, the Journal reported, the Federal Trade Commission is “bullying” Musk with demands to reveal “all journalists” that he granted access to at Twitter.
Taibbi told the GOP committee that an IRS agent visited his New Jersey home on March 9.
That was the same day Taibbi testified before Jordan’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government about his research into Twitter.
“The taxman left a note instructing Mr. Taibbi to call the IRS four days later. Mr. Taibbi was told in a call with the agent that both his 2018 and 2021 tax returns had been rejected owing to concerns over identity theft,” the Journal reported.
Taibbi responded by showing Jordan’s committee that his 2018 return was accepted electronically, and said the IRS never notified him or his accountants about issues with that 2018 return.
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Taibbi did say he had a problem with his 2021 return, and after it was rejected twice, the IRS accepted it with a pin number provided by the agency.
Taibbi notes that the IRS owes him a “considerable” sum.
The Journal pointed out that dispatching an agent in person is highly atypical for the IRS. It usually questions returns through letters or by scheduling a meeting.
“It doesn’t drop by unannounced,” noted the Journal, which added, “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 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 Journal concluded.
“Mr. Taibbi deserves to know why the agency decided to pursue him with a very strange house call.”
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