Journalist Matt Taibbi, who has been at the forefront of the bombshell ‘Twitter Files’ revelations, reportedly had an IRS agent on the doorstep of his home on the same day he was testifying before Congress’ Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
Leftists and the media like to throw around the term ‘fascists’ an awful lot … except when there is clear evidence of it.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board published a report on what they described as “a strange house call.”
Taibbi, they document, had an IRS agent show up “at his personal residence in New Jersey on March 9.”
“That happens to be the same day Mr. Taibbi testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government about what he learned about Twitter.”
The report indicates the agent left a note instructing the journalist to call the agency, where he later found out his tax returns from 2108 and 2021 had been rejected due to concerns of identity theft.
Michael Shellenberger, who had also testified the same day as Taibbi, shared the report and wrote, “What an amazing coincidence.”
While @mtaibbi & I were testifying before Congress on the weaponization of the federal government, an IRS agent showed up at his house. What an amazing coincidence https://t.co/gRGSIa3HRr
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) March 28, 2023
IRS Agent Just Coincidentally Went to Matt Taibbi’s Home While He Was Testifying About Weaponization of Government
As you might imagine, some observers didn’t find the visit by an IRS agent to Matt Taibbi’s home to be a coincidence. At all.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board presented their own skepticism on why they were there.
“The bigger question is when did the IRS start to dispatch agents for surprise house calls?” they wondered.
“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,” the Journal added.
“It doesn’t drop by unannounced.”
But they apparently did in this case. And they dropped by the house of someone testifying before Congress about government intimidation and overreach. Why?
I fear the country I love is becoming like the country I left. Thank you and @mtaibbi for the testimony. We all have to do our part to save America before it is too late.
— Lily Tang Williams (@Lily4Liberty) March 28, 2023
Senator Ted Cruz remarked that the whole incident “stinks to high heaven.”
“The IRS has a troubling history of targeting the political enemies of Democrats,” he added. “The IRS should NEVER be in the business of harassing the American people.”
This absolutely stinks to high heaven. The IRS has a troubling history of targeting the political enemies of Democrats.
The IRS should NEVER be in the business of harassing the American people. https://t.co/twY3KBcgXx
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 28, 2023
Elon Musk, Twitter CEO and the man ultimately behind the ‘Twitter Files’ release through the work of Taibbi and other journalists, suggested the timing of the IRS agent’s visit was “very odd.”
That’s very odd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2023
Jim Jordan, the chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel demanding an explanation.
Jordan said the committee is interested in viewing any documents or correspondence related to the visit to Taibbi’s home.
Jim Jordan Demands IRS Explain Unannounced Visit to Matt Taibbi’s Homehttps://t.co/dT9gtOk2O0
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) March 28, 2023
IRS Has a Long History of Targeting Political Opponents
Any discussion on the weaponization of government has to include a rehash of the IRS’s rich history of targeting political opponents.
The bureau initially rejected the tax-exempt application for a Christian non-profit group in Texas in 2021, partially because their teachings of the Bible and educational efforts are “typically affiliated” with the Republican Party.
Then, of course, there was the massive scandal under former President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden in which the IRS was blatantly and definitively used to target their political opponents.
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The Department of Justice reviewed the scandal in which Tea Party organizations were targeted by the Obama IRS for more rigorous tax-exempt scrutiny. They were discovered to have used terms such as “Tea Party” or “Patriots” to delay applications.
As a result, the DOJ announced in October of 2017 that a settlement with those groups had been reached.
Remember when they deleted thousands of Lois Lerner’s emails after she used the IRS to target conservative tea party groups? Well, the guy who covered up the scandal loves Biden’s IRS empowerment/tax plan https://t.co/95ykrfdzc1
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) May 5, 2021
If Biden was willing to let it happen during Obama’s reign, why wouldn’t he continue the practice today?
In fact, the IRS is so effective at clamping down on political opponents, that Democrats passed an $80 billion increase in the IRS budget which, as Forbes reports, allows the agency to use over half of that budget “for enforcement” and to “get bigger, tougher and faster at collecting, and make them pay.”
The GOP-controlled House passed a bill earlier this year that seeks to slash the massive funding influx to the IRS while nixing the hiring of over 87,000 new IRS employees over the next decade.
The bill has little chance of moving forward in the Senate, and no chance of being signed by the President.
“Mr. Jordan is right to want to see documents and communications relating to the Taibbi visit,” the WSJ wrote.
“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,” they added. “Mr. Taibbi deserves to know why the agency decided to pursue him with a very strange house call.”
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