“Weaponization of the Government,” Mr. Jordan?
...how about these?
On Saturday the New York Times reported that former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly said in a sworn statement that:
“… Trump had discussed having the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies investigate two F.B.I. officials involved in the investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia.”[1]
Those officials were Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were involved in the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. Strzok was the Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division and led the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Page was an attorney for the FBI.
The Times reported that the statement was filed in connection with lawsuits Strzok and Page brought against the Justice Department for violating their privacy rights when the Trump administration disclosed text messages they shared, attempting to cast them as agents of the “deep state” arrayed against Trump.
If you are old enough – or have a special interest in the events collectively known as “Watergate” – something in this news is gonna jog your memory. Richard Nixon had an actual “enemies list”, a document whose goal was to identify and “target some of the president’s most pesky critics,” and described “how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.” White House Counsel John Dean’s testimony before the Watergate Committee disclosed the existence of the enemies list.
“Watergate” triggered a lot of reforms, and among them was legislation making it illegal for the President, Vice President, or member of the executive branch other than the Attorney General to ask the IRS “to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation” of any taxpayer and requiring “[a]ny officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request… (to) report any such request to the Treasury Inspector General...”[2]
So if indeed Trump was pushing Kelly to have the IRS investigate Strzok and Page, he was asking for illegal action. He was trying to “weaponize” the IRS against Strzok and Page, two members of Trump’s enemies list, for their participation in the Russia investigation.
As I read this, I immediately knew that the MAGA caped crusader, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)[3], needed to see this news. Jordan is the chair of something called the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. This…subcommittee was one of the commitments Kevin McCarthy made to his far-right members in return for their votes to become Speaker. The stated purpose of the subcommittee is to scrutinize what they said was a concerted effort by the government to silence and punish conservatives at all levels, from protesters at school board meetings to former President Donald J. Trump.[4]
Siccing the IRS on someone you don’t like is a quintessential example of “weaponizing” the government against a citizen. Surely Jordan would want to look into this. Perhaps he will ask John Kelly to testify before his subcommittee, right?
After all, his subcommittee has been a huge flop to this point, complete with disappearing “whistleblowers” who turn out not to be whistleblowers, but right wingers with an axe to grind, if they appear at all. He needs something to spice up the ratings, as Trump would say.
While we’re on the topic of weaponizing the IRS, perhaps Jordan should look into some older news as well. Both former FBI chief James Comey, and his deputy, Andrew McCabe – who was acting F.B.I. director after Mr. Comey’s firing for his failure to pledge loyalty to Trump – were subjects of intense audits that are described as “highly invasive,” but whose subjects are chosen “randomly” from pools of taxpayers. Comey’s audit for the 2017 tax year was one of 5,000 chosen from 153 million returns (one out of about 30,000). McCabe’s audit for the 2019 tax year was one of about 8,000 such audits drawn from 154 million filings (about one out of 19,000).
What are the odds that BOTH of these people whom Trump considered enemies would be audited randomly?
Maybe Jordan’s subcommittee will get to the bottom of it. I called his tip line today to be sure he knew about these…mysterious goings-on.
Still waiting for the call-back.
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[1] The Times reported that the statement that was “filed in connection with lawsuits brought by Peter Strzok, who was the lead agent in the F.B.I.’s Russia investigation, and Lisa Page, a former lawyer in the bureau, against the Justice Department for violating their privacy rights when the Trump administration made public text messages between them.” Trump Asked About I.R.S. Inquiry of F.B.I. Officials, Ex-Aide Says Under Oath – NY Times, July 8, 2023.
[2] 26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations - https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7217#:~:text=It%20shall%20be%20unlawful%20for,tax%20liability%20of%20such%20taxpayer.
[3]This is the same Representative Jordan who was eyeball deep in the plot to overturn the election. He was present at a White House meeting with Trump to plan the January 6 Congressional shenanigans (object to electoral votes and “throw it back to the states”). Who else was there? Here’s the list of luminaries who met with Trump (and Pence, Giuliani, and Mark Meadows) on December 21, 2020: Reps. Mo Brooks (Al), Brian Babin (TX), Andy Biggs (AZ), Matt Gaetz (FL), Louie Gohmert (TX), Paul Gosar (AZ), Andy Harris (MD), Jody Hice (GA), Scott Perry (PA), and Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA). According to Jan. 6 Committee member Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), the meeting was part of an effort to "disseminate his false claims and to encourage members of the public to fight the outcome on January 6."
[4] Divided House Approves G.O.P. Inquiry Into ‘Weaponization’ of Government, NY Times, 1/10/23