The Internal Revenue Service commissioner has requested that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigate how ex-FBI leaders James Comey and Andrew McCabe were both subjected to a very rare intensive audit, the tax agency said on Thursday.
Useless. The IG reports to the Commissioner.
No way in hell you’re going to get an honest investigation when the person that they need to investigate literally signs their fucking paycheck.
Today’s WaPo article went into how individuals are selected. The fact that Comey’s and McCabe’s audits went forward shows the level of incompetence at the IRS. Both names should have been passed over.
These are precisely the sort of shenanigans that get investigated for 18 months, whereupon it’s announced that yes, unethical and/or illegal acts were committed. But hey, what do you want us to do about it, the perps are retired, dead, out of office, mumble, mumble,… LOOK, Squirrel!!!
Yep. And the “stop telling us to vote harder” crowd will pointedly ignore this obvious truth and then deny any culpability for their actions (or lack).
But assholes in the IRS could not just release the tax returns of the Tax Evader in Chief.
That’s I posted it.
If smeg was still in office, CNN would be reporting that WH aides were quickly calling the IRS Commish and demanding that he stonewall.
Independent organization within the department. So far as I can tell, TIGTA submits preliminary reports to the Commissioner and solicits input on “Audit” investigations, i.e., investigations aimed at improving IRS process and functioning. But it does not provide drafts or solicit input when conducting investigations into fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement. The Comey/McCabe investigation definitely falls into the latter group.
And in any event, the current Commissioner will be long gone before this particular investigation is concluded. That said, the current head of TIGTA is a 2004 Bush hire, so there still is reason to be skeptical.
*""“The IRS has denied the notion that the two former FBI officials had been deliberately targeted”""
If they did it they would say that.
If they did not do it they would say that.
There are no independent organizations within an organization. Ultimately they all report up the chain to the same boss running the place.
It’s why IG reports nearly always clear their departments of wrong-doing, save only egregious cases that they can’t sufficiently cover up.
Sure, the investigator may not report directly to the commissioner, but his boss, or his boss’ boss, or so on, does.
All of the IGs should be ripped out of every department and put in a truly independent organization that can actually deliver a full and impartial investigation.
Not denying that they’re creatures of their departments. But TIGTA literally doesn’t report to the Commissioner. And to the extent you think he does so informally, it’s likely to be a Biden-appointed Commissioner soon enough (not sure who the Acting will be if McConnell gets his gavel back).
That’s a dereliction of civic responsibility I marvel at…why it’s so easy not to vote and why the suffering intensifies when that happens.
IG’s are basically a joke.
There should be an assumption that something nefarious went on to target these 2 individuals because it’s basically a near statistical impossibility for both to have been selected for this type of audit. The DOJ should open a criminal investigation into this if they’re serious about confronting abuses of power. The British just showed us how it’s done. They investigated Boris even though his party had absolute control over the gov’t and revealed multiple abuses of power.
Was standing in the lobby of a Humble station, back in the 70s. Smoking with a buddy. He pulled one from his pack, fumbled it, and it tumbled out of his hands onto the floor. I looked down as he stooped to retrieve it. It was standing upright, vertical, on the filter end. Sorted of freaked us both out. I can still see it happening today.
Yeah, my first impression on this was that this would be the last we hear of it.
It’ll go no further than the request to the IG.
I wouldn’t hang by the neck waiting for that criminal investigation, my friend. I just wouldn’t.
I was an in an independent organization within the IRS. We reported directly to Congress, I ought to know, I reported to my share of them. I guarantee you that there were many IRS employees who saw my demonstrations of independence.