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Lock Them Up, After Giving Them the Full Manafort Treatment!
Late on 7 May 2019, the New York Times “broke” a story handed to them by Democrat Party operatives within the IRS, the New York State Department of Taxation and Revenue, or the New York City Department of Finance. Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that these are the three possible employers of one or more employees who would, because of their positions in those particular agencies, have access to the IRS computer databases. The employee or employees reportedly had legal access to the computer database. They improperly accessed the system to steal 10 years of Donald Trump’s tax data from 1985 through 1994.
Each year is a record. That makes at least 10 felony counts, the way the IRS and DOJ play when they actually mean business. It is not a coincidence that the NYT was spoon-fed this data the day after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin properly refused to hand over the most recent 10 years of Donald Trump’s tax returns to the House Democrats. This has nothing to do with “Russia,” and everything to do with supposedly non-political public employees illegally interfering in the 2020 election, just as the IRS did in 2012.
Let us be clear, this latest criminal act by tax authority professionals was green-lit by the long failure to prosecute, and the failure to use the power of the purse to severely punish the whole IRS after it colluded in rigging the 2012 election in favor of the GOP Congressional party, the little club of senior time-serving legislators, as well as President Obama. The IRS did so by illegally targeting the Tea Party movement, preventing election of a second wave of new legislators who would not be beholden to the likes of Mitch “Mumbles” McConnell and Paul “Lying” Ryan.
This was not a rogue employee, or small cell. As CBS reported in 2013:
Senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew agents were targeting tea party groups as early as 2011, according to a draft of an inspector general’s report obtained by The Associated Press that seemingly contradicts public statements by the IRS commissioner.
It was the genius of the IRS criminals that they benefited both wings of the permanent party in the Swamp. That is why we got no more than play acting from Congress when both chambers were controlled by Republican(t)s. Now the criminal or criminals expect a replay, with the Republicans playing the same phony outrage role.
Secretary Mnuchin must immediately lead the way in actually catching the felon. Attorney General Barr must order the full resources of the FBI to be used to back up Treasury in tracing the digital fingerprints in the IRS, and possibly New York government, systems. The perpetrator or cabal must be subjected to a “Paul Manafort raid” and for the same reason: to send a loud clear message. As Fox News described the Manafort home invasion:
The FBI’s July raid on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s Virginia home lasted 10 hours and involved a dozen federal agents, who seized documents labeled “attorney-client,” according to a source close to the investigation.
The July raid was first reported earlier this month, but the new details reflect the intensity and scope of the search, which the source described as “heavy-handed, designed to intimidate.” Elements of the account were backed up by a second individual also not authorized to speak on the record.
Such tactics are especially warranted, unlike the Manafort case, because of the long, documented history of convenient and even blatant destruction of evidence by the IRS, such as when the agency destroyed evidence that was relevant to a lawsuit brought against it in 2011 by the pro-Israel group Z Street.
I say go in with heavy teams, in full tactical gear. Grab everything. Frog march the perp or perps out the front door in front of cameras. Then conduct a joint Treasury and DOJ press statement with AG Barr and Secretary Mnuchin promising prosecution to the maximum extent of the law and a full restoration of public trust through a complete house cleaning.
Published in Politics
And the persecution of the Don goes on.
People need to be jailed and lose their pensions over this.
Amen!
Income taxes will always be too complex and distorting, we can live without them. We can live with a combination of debt and consumption taxes. Simple across the board, uniform. Both debt and consumption taxes can be made market conforming while income taxes can’t. Folks won’t like it but that’s the good part because it becomes obvious governments take too large a share and most of what they do is not only not necessary, it is harmful.
Wonder why they exposed / leaked just these years? Why not all?
Anybody notice that the Democrat party has now changed so that paying taxes is good and using the rules and not paying taxes is bad?
The MSM sells the story as if there was something nefarious afoot, and their audience follows along like schnauzers chasing the phantom stick.
What was the source of the tax information? ….. The Internal Revenue Service … The Federal Agency charged with collecting and adjudicating the propriety of our nations Income Taxes.
Which is to say Trump and the Trump organization evidently accurately filed and paid whatever taxes were owed to the Feds in the years 1985- 1994. If that were not the case the NYT story would be about Trump having been audited and losing IRS judgements and paying penalties and interest during 1985-1994 …(or being prosecuted fined and/or imprisoned which we obviously already know never happened).
The take away to the the economically literate: Trump paid all that was owed to the IRS in 1985-1994.
To the economically illiterate: Orange Man Bad.
In another post, someone asked how we push back. This is how, with all guns blasting. We have the law behind us, too, so act–NOW!
If the leaker is ever found (highly doubtful) the leak will be attributed to a low-level staffer who did it entirely on his own with no outside assistance. Maybe the janitor.
But I’m going with “no consequences for crimes committed by Democrats.” Because that’s how things work in Washington. Barely 2 percent of the swamp has been drained.
There is no swamp. There is no deep state. Quietly move along…. </gaslight>
If the “leaker” is not publicly identified, humiliated, and jailed, here is a real world consequence that those cheering the leak might want to consider:
Next April a small but possibly not trivial number of people will refuse to file tax returns. When the IRS tries to enforce, they will defend with the fact that we can no longer trust the IRS to maintain the confidentiality of our most sensitive personal information. A judge may or may not consider this a sufficient grounds to refuse compliance with the tax laws. But those non-filers will certainly be favorably viewed by a portion of the American public, which may lead to larger numbers of people refusing to file.
Even though the IRS has some awesome coercive powers, the US tax system depends almost entirely on voluntary compliance. Undermining the taxpayers’ confidence in the ability or willingness of the tax authorities to maintain the confidentiality of the information submitted by the American public will substantially damage the functionality of the US tax system.
I see no reason to wait for next April. Quarterly-filers should raise the issue right now.
You betcha!
This should be an open an shut case. Every single employee of those agencies who were aware and or had anything to do with this should do felony prison time with the inner circle of perpetrators given a life sentence. No mercy should be shown these criminals.
This kind of criminality in our government will continue until these crimes are prosecuted and harsh sentencing handed down.
This part of Clifford’s post brings up another aspect – that of the politicians who ordered this:
“Let us be clear, this latest criminal act by tax authority professionals was green-lit by the long failure to prosecute, and the failure to use the power of the purse to severely punish the whole IRS after it colluded in rigging the 2012 election in favor of the GOP Congressional party, the little club of senior time-serving legislators, as well as President Obama. The IRS did so by illegally targeting the Tea Party movement, preventing election of a second wave of new legislators who would not be beholden to the likes of Mitch “Mumbles” McConnell and Paul “Lying” Ryan.’
Every politician involved should be prosecuted, tried, convicted and sentenced to life. No Mercy.
Of course, that would probably, when are the facts are laid out, include the Big Kahuna himself – our saintly last President – who probably has presidential immunity for acts during his Presidency- but there are other ways to skin a bad cat like him and the full Manafort treatment is one.
The first story from the stolen IRS taxpayer data is supposed to get under President Trump’s skin by focusing on the size of his reported losses, in that time period, in a boom or bust business. Of course, Ivanka Trump is on tape telling the story of walking with her father towards Trump Tower. Her father pointed to a homeless man sitting outside the building and told her: “That man is worth more than me right now.” That was a start point for her learning about business finances.
Do you really believe that people can access the IRS tax records without leaving any digital trace? Since Mnuchin and Barr are in charge of the relevant agencies, I’m not buying that things are destined to go the usual Washington way.
I’m cynical when it comes to justice in Washington. I haven’t been disappointed by my disappointment yet.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of traitors.
I do not know the sentencing guidelines for theft and improper exposure of a taxpayer’s tax return information, but I’m guessing much less than life. Now, piling up the years by charging disclosure of each annual tax record as a separate criminal act might get you there.
Well, we can rule out the IRS. There’s not a smidgen of corruption there. Obama told me so.
Well that settles that. I made the point about the other possible sources of the offender or offenders because the New York State apparatus is fully in the hands of the corrupt and vengeful left. They have top cover from the governor. The game being played by the state legislature, proposing legislation to let Congress have President Trump’s state tax data is driven by the state income tax system being intertwined with the federal system, so facilitating the same illegal political dirt mining.
I’m just saying, Treasury and DOJ must follow the digital trail wherever it leads.
Clifford, you are my hero for several reasons, but the icing on the Hero Cake is your John Wick reference.
Because I can’t let it go:
Imagine if Trump had used the IRS to target his political opponents. A couple of million angry Americans would be marching on the White House, today, to yank him out of there, so righteous would be their rage, and their fealty to constitutional republics, and the rights recognized by our Founders for citizens to remain free of tyranny.