Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Monday demanded answers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about why an IRS agent allegedly made an in-person visit to the New Jersey home of investigative journalist Matt Taibbi, with Jordan suggesting possible witness intimidation.
Jordan penned a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in which the House Judiciary Committee Chairman requested all documents and communications relating to the IRS’s alleged field visit to Taibbi’s New Jersey home on March 9, the same day the journalist appeared before Congress to testify on government abuse.
“In light of the hostile reaction to Mr. Taibbi’s reporting among left-wing activists, and the IRS’s history as a tool of government abuse, the IRS’s action could be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate a witness before Congress,” Jordan wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Epoch Times.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the IRS and the Treasury for comment.
‘Incredible’ Circumstances Around IRS Visit
Taibbi, who was one of the journalists who was given access to internal Twitter communications as part of the “Twitter Files” reporting, appeared on March 9 before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which Jordan also chairs.
At the hearing, Taibbi discussed evidence that the federal government had pressured tech companies to censor content. Taibbi’s reporting on the “Twitter Files,” to which he was granted access by Elon Musk, referenced correspondence between federal officials and social media executives that included requests to remove content from platforms.
While Taibbi was testifying before Congress, an IRS agent visited his private residence in New Jersey and left a note asking Taibbi to contact the tax agency, according to Jordan’s letter.
“The circumstances surrounding the IRS’s unannounced and unprompted visit to Mr. Taibbi’s home, at the exact time that he was testifying to Congress about ‘the most serious’ government abuse he has witnessed in his career as a journalist, are incredible,” Jordan wrote.
By Tom Ozimek
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