Jordan's letter was in response to a March 27 request for information on the IRS's visit to Taibbi's home, followed by documents obtained through a letter from the agency on May 6. Jordan stated that the documents raised more questions than they answered.
According to the letter, the IRS claimed to have sent a letter to Taibbi on October 24, 2019, asking him to verify his tax return because it met identity theft criteria and could not be processed until he confirmed. The agency also claimed to have sent a second letter to Taibbi on March 23, 2020.
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However, Taibbi and his accountant did not receive either of these letters or any other notification that there was an issue with his 2018 tax return until the IRS conducted a field visit at his home three years later. The IRS also failed to produce these purported letters to the Committee.
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Jordan's letter revealed that the IRS opened its examination of Taibbi's 2018 tax return on December 24, 2022, which was Christmas Eve and a Saturday. This date was also the same day Taibbi published the ninth segment of the Twitter Files on the social media platform, outlining government abuses.
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The letter stated that it is unclear from the documents alone why the IRS opened its examination of Taibbi's tax return on such an unusual date or whether it coincided intentionally with Taibbi's reporting about government censorship.
On January 27, 2023, an IRS agent was assigned to Taibbi's case to initiate face-to-face contact. The agent extensively investigated Taibbi, using publicly available search engines and commercial investigative software such as Anywho, Consumer Affairs, LexisNexis Accruint, and Google.
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The dossier on Taibbi reportedly contained information on him, including his voter registration records, whether he possessed a hunting or fishing license, if he had a concealed weapons permit and his telephone numbers. The agent had also saved Taibbi's Wikipedia page.
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The IRS's documents given to the committee revealed that Taibbi did not owe anything in taxes but was owed a substantial refund. Following the visit, Taibbi resolved his tax filing on March 21, 2023, and was sent a Notice of Case Resolution on the 23rd, indicating that the case had been closed. However, the IRS's production did not tell the agency's decision-making process to open a case against Taibbi or conduct a field visit at his home.
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Jordan demanded that the IRS produce to the committee all documents relating to the decision to open an examination into Taibbi's tax returns and its justification, the decision to conduct the field visit on March 9, 2023, the Twitter Files, and ones detailing IRS protocols about how agents may investigate and gather personal information on taxpayers and the limits of these means.
These items will be handed to the committee no later than 5 pm on June 7, 2023, with Jordan requesting that the agent assigned to Taibbi's case be made available for a transcribed interview before the committee.
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