Guardians of Pedophiles': IRS political meddling

GOP lawmakers largely duck on report of IRS political meddling

Democrats, meanwhile, denounced any move by the Trump administration to target the tax-exempt status of liberal-leaning groups.

Brian Faler

Republicans urged caution, and Democrats expressed outrage, on Thursday in response to a news report that the IRS is gearing up to target progressive organizations with criminal investigations.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he wasn’t aware of any such effort by the agency but suggested that such a move would be just as wrong as what the IRS under the Obama administration did more than a decade ago, when it subjected conservative groups to extra scrutiny when they sought tax-exempt status.

The effort described by The Wall Street Journal amounts to weaponizing tax laws against Democratic activists, said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — ironic, he added, given that Republicans complained for years about the Obama-era scandal.

“The weaponization they talk about is happening right now in front of their eyes, and unless Republicans stand up and speak out, they’ll be complicit,” said Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a fellow tax writer, agreed it would be inappropriate for the IRS to target liberal groups — but, like other Republicans, said he didn’t know of any such plan by the agency.

“It’s not appropriate to be able to use the IRS for political purposes, but I have no idea if that’s actually happening right now,” he said.

The account described Gary Shapley, an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, planning to sideline career lawyers while stocking the agency’s criminal division with like-minded allies who would target Democratic groups and donors.

The story is reminiscent of other efforts by the Trump administration to sic federal agencies, like the Justice Department, on the president’s enemies.

It also flies in the face of the IRS’s long-running efforts, going back to at least the Ford administration, to cast itself as a nonpartisan administrator of the tax code.

Republicans are quick to point out how the IRS fell short of that standard during the Obama administration, when officials there used keywords like “tea party” and “patriots” to flag applications by groups seeking tax-exempt status. And told of the Journal story, Republicans said it sounded reminiscent of that episode, which starred a former official named Lois Lerner.

“Let’s put it this way: When Lois Lerner did it, it was wrong,” said Grassley.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he read the story but didn’t necessarily believe it.

“I’m certainly interested to find out what’s going on,” he said, predicting the Finance Committee “will make some inquiries and get the facts.”

He declined to say whether it would be inappropriate for the IRS to target liberal groups. “I’m not going to answer a hypothetical — I just don’t know whether that’s true or not,” he said.