IRS Weaponization Worse Than DOJ Weaponization? — Marty Challenges the Senate in this Guest Op-Ed
In this guest op-ed, retired IRS criminal investigator Martin Sheil investigates Trump’s weaponization of the IRS and challenges the Senate to use legal means to prevent an American dictatorship
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Author’s note: Retired IRS criminal investigator Martin Sheil, a Chicago resident, is a frequent contributor to Bette Dangerous.
Guest Op-Ed: IRS Weaponization Worse Than DOJ Weaponization?
by Martin Sheil
As Halloween season unfolds, the question can be reasonably asked:
Which is the bigger nightmare?
To date, since the inauguration of Trump 2, we have witnessed the vindictive prosecuting of selected Trump opponents James Comey and Letitia James, which resulted in recent indictments by Trump’s Department of Justice.
More may be coming if one believes what Trump posts on his social media accounts.
But a bigger horror may well be unfolding before our eyes as both MSNBC and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that Trump’s plans for reorganizing the IRS include targeting IRS audits and investigations against perceived political opponents of Trump. The IRS is the world’s finest tax collection agency in the opinion of this writer, who was employed by the IRS in many roles over a 30-year career.
The WSJ has reported that the Trump-inspired IRS reorganization plan includes the objective of investigating individuals and organizations that fund politically left-leaning groups.
This new found objective runs counter to the long-standing mission statement and tradition of the IRS to increase voluntary compliance with the Tax law by deterring those who do not comply with the law. The Hatch Act specifically prohibits government employees from engaging in political activities while conducting government business.
One individual, Gary Shapley, has been identified by the media as the keeper of the political hit list to be targeted by the reorganized IRS for audits and investigations.
Shapley was the IRS agent who supervised the criminal tax investigation of Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden and political opponent of Donald Trump.
The media is reporting that the IRS reorganization minimizes the role of IRS Chief Counsel’s office in providing guardrails for the various functions of the IRS when conducting audits and investigations of those suspected to be in noncompliance with the tax law.
Mr. Shapley will likely be predisposed to ignore the legal oversight provided by the Chief Counsel’s office since he ignored their legal counsel recommendations when it opposed the forwarding of Shapley’s recommendation for criminal prosecution of Hunter Biden to the criminal tax offices of the DOJ when Shapley was in fact pushing DOJ to prosecute Hunter Biden for tax fraud charges.
The emasculation of the Chief Counsel’s office in the reorganization plan put forth recently for the IRS is very concerning to experienced tax professionals, who understand the importance of the role this office has historically provided in guiding IRS enforcement efforts.
This reorganization appears to this writer misguided and driven by political motives.
Julius Caesar — the infamous Roman emperor, who when asked about his tax policy famously answered to ‘give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s.’
Should Donald Trump proceed with the IRS reorganization plan that is nothing more than a plan to subvert and weaponize the finest tax agency in the world for the express purpose of attacking his political opponents then Mr. Trump is likely fated to drive his burgeoning empire to the same fate as the Roman Empire in my humble opinion.
While it is popular now to criticize Donald Trump for what some describe as his Kingly aspirations and autocratic behavior, I see a more accurate parallel to be that of Julius Caesar Emperor of Rome.
Caesar’s downfall was precipitated according to the esteemed historian Christopher Klein by his concentration power, political opposition and the fear of autocracy among the Roman elite.
By the time of his assassination, according to Klein, the Roman Republic was already facing internal strife characterized by wealth inequality, political corruption, and civil war.
Sound familiar?
To be clear — no one suggests here that Senators from the US Senate take matters into their own hands and end Mr. Trump’s dictatorship by violently stabbing Mr. Trump a la Julius Caesar.
American political leaders are better than that. Violence is no way to force political change no matter how tyrannical our leader may be.
But when a wannabe American emperor is subverting government institutions — e.g. DOJ and IRS — for his own corrupt political purposes, then it is time for the political opposition to confront the tyrant in a peaceful but powerful political manner — impeachment?!? 25th Amendment?!? — and forestall the creation of an American empire by a wannabe emperor and do so by using lawful and recognized legal means.
Who in the US Congress and particularly the U.S. Senate has the courage to stand up to the orange dictator and call him on his corrupt actions and put a stop to his weaponizing of government functions?
Et tu Schumer?
—Martin Sheil, Supervisory Special Agent, IRS, Criminal Investigations, retired
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