Journalist Matt Taibbi unveiled worrisome allegations on Wednesday concerning the excessive actions of the IRS, according to reports on Twitter.
Taibbi appeared on Fox News and discussed the timing of initiating an IRS inquiry. The IRS apparently chose to commence their investigation precisely when Taibbi was getting ready to provide testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Government Weaponization.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan highlighted the sequence of events in a letter addressed to Danny Werfel, the head of the IRS. Jordan stated that the scrutiny of Taibbi’s financial affairs commenced on December 24, 2022, which happened to be Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve in 2022 fell on a Saturday, raising questions about the peculiar timing.
Taibbi confirmed the accuracy of this timeline during the Fox interview, suggesting potential political motives behind the investigation. Although Werfel assumed office in March 2023, the acting commissioner at the time was appointed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
During the interview, John Roberts, the interviewer, astutely remarked that it would be highly unusual for the IRS to undertake such a significant matter on both a holiday and a Saturday. Taibbi concurred with this assessment, particularly in light of his recent publication exposing the close connection between the FBI and Twitter. Taibbi raised concerns about the suspicious appearance, or “optics,” surrounding the IRS’s targeting of him.
“[The IRS examination] was a three-year-old case, and I didn’t owe them any money. So all of those factors combined to make the optics of this really strange,” Taibbi explained.
“You would wonder what supervisor would be calling an agent on a Saturday and asking him to come into work to open up a case,” he added.
On the day Taibbi provided his testimony to the committee, the IRS appointed an agent to handle his case. Roughly a month later, on January 27, 2023, the agency assigned an agent for direct interaction with taxpayers. This happened the same day Taibbi testified before Jordan and Plaskett’s panel.
As anticipated, the investigation concluded that the government owed money to Taibbi instead of the other way around. Although he was initially hesitant, Taibbi now acknowledges that the motives behind the investigation were evidently political.
“But now I don’t think there’s really a whole lot of doubt that this was somehow politically motivated. At least it has the appearance of that. And I think they need to answer some questions about why they made this decision,” Taibbi said.
