The recent visit of an IRS agent to journalist Matt Taibbi’s home on March 9, the same day he testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, has raised eyebrows and sparked a demand for an explanation from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.
According to Jordan, the federal agent left a note for Taibbi, asking him to call the IRS four days later. When he did, an agent informed him that both his 2018 and 2021 tax returns had been rejected due to identity theft concerns.
Taibbi is a journalist involved in researching and reporting on the Twitter Files, which are internal documents from Twitter intended to expose bias in the company’s past content moderation and its previous contact with government officials.
During his testimony before the Select Subcommittee, Taibbi presented documents indicating that his 2018 return had been electronically accepted, and the IRS never informed him or his accountants of any issues over the last four and a half years.
This incident raises questions about whether the timing of the visit was deliberate and whether the IRS’s rejection of Taibbi’s tax returns was in retaliation for his reporting on the Twitter Files.
Jordan’s demand for an explanation from the IRS Commissioner and the Department of Treasury seeks to uncover the truth behind the unusual visit and rejection of Taibbi’s tax returns.
Taibbi and Democrats clash
If it is found that the IRS targeted Taibbi in response to his reporting, this could be seen as an attempt to intimidate journalists and discourage them from investigating government wrongdoing. It could also lead to concerns about the government’s use of its power to silence critics and journalists who report on sensitive topics.
On March 9, the day when journalist Matt Taibbi testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, an IRS agent paid him a visit at his home.
Taibbi was testifying on what he learned from Twitter Files, a trove of internal documents at Twitter aimed at exposing unfair bias in the company’s past content moderation and previous contact with government officials.
The agent left a note asking Taibbi to call the IRS four days later, where he was informed that his 2018 and 2021 tax returns were rejected due to identity theft concerns.
Taibbi disclosed that it was not a money issue, and he was actually owed a “considerable” amount by the IRS. Taibbi refused to comment further on the matter, pending an answer to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s letter to the IRS Commissioner and the Department of Treasury demanding an explanation over the visit.