“…Let’s not have a double standard depending on who is the IRS target,” the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board wrote in an editorial, following a New York Times report that implied former top FBI officials were inappropriately selected for an Internal Revenue Service research audit. 

In the midst of inaction by congressional Democrats and the IRS to investigate last year’s leak of taxpayer data, the Wall Street Journal warned there shouldn’t be a political double standard in investigating taxpayer privacy.

Key Excerpt:

“Too bad Mr. Wyden has shown little interest in the rule of law concerning other IRS abuses. One example is last year’s leak of tax records to the progressive website ProPublica. The site published the detailed records of such billionaires as Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos in June 2021, the same time Democrats were making the case for a wealth tax. The leak was a federal crime, and ProPublica hasn’t disclosed its source or how the files were obtained.

A year later the IRS still hasn’t offered information about the leak to Congress. Not that Mr. Wyden’s committee or Democrats on House Ways and Means seem eager to know. The same was true during the Obama years when the IRS subjected conservative nonprofits to undue scrutiny in their applications for tax-exempt status. The media yawned, and Mr. Comey told Congress no one broke the law.”

CLICK HERE to read the full editorial.

“…the IRS should never be used as a weapon against political opponents,” Ways and Means Republican Leader Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) said in a statement last week. “To be clear, any such investigation should not take precedence over informing the public about or concluding its investigation of the largest theft of private taxpayer information in American history.” 

READ Rep. Kevin Brady’s (R-TX) full statement: Brady: All Allegations of IRS Political Targeting Should Be Investigated.

Background:

The American people deserve answers and taxpayer privacy is paramount.

• One year after the largest leak of taxpayer data at the IRS, Democrats and the Biden Administration are no closer to holding accountable those responsible for leaking confidential, personal tax information, and still doesn’t know what taxpayer data was stolen.
• Democrats have prioritized a supercharged IRS and surveillance scheme over getting to the bottom of this criminal breach of taxpayer information.
• Taxpayers have received little assurance that their sensitive financial information is being kept safe.

Ways and Means Republicans’ requests for investigation into the massive theft of taxpayer information are still unanswered.

• In April 2022, nearly 10 months after the leak of taxpayer data by the IRS, Rep. Brady and Sen. Crapo sent a letter to Secretary Yellen demanding a timeline on the completion of the investigation on the criminal breach of taxpayer data. No timeline has been provided.
• After a briefing on June 14, 2021 from Commissioner Rettig, Rep. Brady renewed his call for an “…aggressive investigation of this astonishing breach of trust to protect Americans’ personal finances from prying, political eyes.”
• On June 8, 2021, ProPublica detailed income tax information to advance Democrats’ efforts to supercharge the IRS and to turn your local bank into a tax auditor.
• On June 9, 2021, Rep. Brady and Sen. Crapo wrote to Commissioner Rettig demanding answers on the breach.