IRS probed reporter Matt Taibbi on Christmas Eve as Twitter Files posted

KARAH RUCKER: TWITTER FILES JOURNALIST MATT TAIBBI WAS NOT ONLY THE CENTER OF AN IRS INVESTIGATION – BUT THE FEDERAL AGENCY WAS WORKING OVERTIME TO DIG INTO THE JOURNALIST’S TAX RECORDS FROM YEARS BACK.

TAIBBI SAYS THE IRS PROBE AGAINST HIM STARTED ON CHRISTMAS EVE 2022 —

WHICH WOULD BE RARE FOR AGENTS TO DO GIVEN ITS PROXIMITY TO THE FEDERAL HOLIDAY AND THAT THE DAY FELL ON A SATURDAY LAST YEAR – AND ALLOWS FOR FURTHER SPECULATION THE INVESTIGATION IN ITS ENTIRETY WAS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED. THIS IS A STORY YOU WON’T HEAR ABOUT IF YOU’RE WATCHING A MAJORITY OF MAINSTREAM CHANNELS.

IT’S NOT BEING COVERED BY CNN, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, ETC. IN THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE — YOU SEE A TOTAL ABSENCE OF LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS COVERING THE FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO A REPORTER WHO USED INTERNAL TWITTER FILES TO EXPOSE CENSORSHIP ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM. IN FACT — THE STORY IS GETTING VERY LITTLE COVERAGE. BUT THE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS WILLING TO TALK ABOUT THE TIMING OF AN IRS INVESTIGATION INTO THE JOURNALIST – ARE ALL RIGHT-LEANING.

SOMETIMES BIAS BEGINS AT STORY SELECTION — AND OMISSION. AND YOU CAN EASILY VIEW THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE OF A NEWS STORY BY USING THIS FEATURE ON OUR WEBSITE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS DOT COM.

LET’S GO OVER THE TIMELINE OF THE IRS’ INVESTIGATION INTO TAIBBI.

AN INVESTIGATION THAT’S NOW BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LOOKING FOR ANY POLITICALLY-DRIVEN MOTIVES IN THE PROBE.

ON DECEMBER 24TH OF LAST YEAR, THE IRS OPENED ITS EXAMINATION OF TAIBBI’S 20-18 TAX RETURN.

THAT HAPPENS TO BE THE SAME DAY A BATCH OF TWITTER FILES WERE DROPPED —

FOCUSED ON THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP AND COORDINATION BETWEEN TWITTER AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.

THAT DAY ALSO HAPPENED TO FALL ON A SATURDAY LAST YEAR. SO THE IRS OPENED ITS CASE NOT ONLY THE DAY BEFORE A FEDERAL HOLIDAY BUT ALSO A WEEKEND — DAYS THAT AGENTS WOULD TYPICALLY NOT BE WORKING.

FAST FORWARD TO MARCH WHEN TAIBBI WAS SET TO TESTIFY BEFORE THE “SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.”

ON THE SAME DAY TAIBBI TESTIFIED ALLEGING TIES BETWEEN THE FBI AND BIG TECH 

IRS AGENTS SHOWED UP AT HIS FRONT DOOR. ALL IN THE NAME OF A YEARS-OLD CASE.

THE IRS ULTIMATELY DETERMINED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OWED HIM MONEY AFTER REVIEWING THE 2018 TAX RECORDS.

JUST LIKE HOW ITS ATYPICAL FOR THE IRS TO BEGIN AN INVESTIGATION OVER A HOLIDAY WEEKEND – IT’S NOT TYPICAL FOR AGENTS TO MAKE HOUSE VISITS TO PEOPLE AT THE CENTER OF TAX AUDITS. THE RECENT AND CONTROVERSIAL 80 BILLION DOLLARS IN FUNDING FROM CONGRESS TO THE IRS IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT HAS AMERICANS CLOSELY WATCHING WHAT COMES NEXT.