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House GOP Investigation Into Government Weaponization Unearths New Evidence of IRS Targeting Journalist

ByAlki David

Mar 28, 2023
Journalist Matt Taibbi

As the House GOP investigation into the weaponization of government continues to make strides, Democrats are quick to denounce the efforts. However, recent developments suggest that the Republicans may be on to something.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has written a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seeking an explanation for an unannounced home visit by an IRS agent to journalist Matt Taibbi. The circumstances and timing of this visit have raised eyebrows, particularly as Taibbi had testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government just days prior.

Taibbi has drawn criticism from Democrats and fellow journalists for his work investigating Twitter records and exposing the social media giant’s censorship and contacts with government officials. This work has already resulted in government harassment, with the Federal Trade Commission targeting new Twitter owner Elon Musk and demanding that the company identify all journalists granted access to its files.

Now, Taibbi has informed Mr. Jordan’s committee that an IRS agent visited his New Jersey home on March 9, the same day he testified before the Select Subcommittee. The agent left a note instructing Taibbi to call the IRS four days later, and he was informed that his 2018 and 2021 tax returns had been rejected due to concerns over identity theft.

Democrats may be quick to dismiss the House GOP investigation, but this latest evidence suggests that the weaponization of government is a very real concern that must be addressed.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.