IRS seeks to investigate Democratic donors, senior official made a target list

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00:00A new report reveals one of President Trump's top officials at the IRS is developing a list

00:05of Democratic groups and donors to target for criminal investigation.

00:09There was an outcry when it was revealed in 2013 that the IRS targeted conservative groups

00:15during the Obama administration.

00:17So let's go find out what lawmakers are saying about this now.

00:21First, here's a little more from the exclusive report in the Wall Street Journal.

00:27Gary Shapley, an advisor to Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, has developed a list of Democrats

00:32to target that includes billionaire donor George Soros.

00:35The report also states Shapley plans on removing the chief of the investigative unit to give

00:40the Trump administration more control over criminal inquiries into left-leaning organizations.

00:46In 2013, after it was revealed the IRS targeted conservative groups during the Obama administration,

00:52Republicans expressed resentment.

00:54We know because we have all their statements.

00:56For instance, Senator Lindsey Graham wrote a letter to President Obama stating,

01:00This type of purely political scrutiny being conducted by an executive branch agency is

01:04yet another completely inexcusable attempt to chill the speech of political opponents.

01:09So how did Senator Graham react to today's news?

01:11Now there's a report out that the IRS is going to be targeting liberals and Democratic donors

01:16and groups.

01:17How do you feel about that?

01:18It depends.

01:19If they've got a good reason, I don't like the idea of targeting political people.

01:23Senator John Cornyn said of the 2013 Obama scandal, today's revelation that the IRS targeted

01:29average Americans using taxpayer dollars solely for disagreeing with them politically is completely

01:34unacceptable from this administration.

01:37We spoke with him too.

01:38What do you make of that?

01:39Well, I read those allegations.

01:41I don't know whether they're true or not.

01:43But as a member of the Finance Committee, I think it's something we ought to look into.

01:47Aren't you concerned about going on a fishing expedition of political opponents?

01:51Well, unfortunately, it's happened in the past and usually Republicans and conservatives have

01:56been the target.

01:57And but I think the government should not be used.

02:01The IRS should not be used for political purposes.

02:04In 2021, nearly every Senate Republican sponsored the Don't Weaponize the IRS Act, including

02:10Senator Josh Hawley.

02:12When the legislation was introduced, the lead sponsor stated the IRS should never target

02:17an American because of his or her political beliefs.

02:20Here's Hawley's response to the Trump administration.

02:22How do you feel about that?

02:23Well, I mean, have they done these things?

02:26I mean, are they actively doing it right now?

02:28They're actively changing personnel and well, but they have the right to change personnel.

02:33But listen, I mean, here's the deal.

02:35We just learned that under Joe Biden, the FBI targeted 92 conservative organizations for

02:41investigation for no other reason that they were conservative organizations at the same

02:45time that they were monitoring my phone calls and tapping my phone.

02:48So I have some personal experience with this.

02:52And I would just say that I don't think that there's it's, you know, on the one hand, on the

02:56other hand, it's really all equal.

02:58No, actually, for the last four years, the last administration turned every arm of our law

03:03enforcement into their personal plaything.

03:05And I think that needs to stop, period.

03:07I don't think anybody should be doing it.

03:08I don't think this administration is.

03:10Hawley is referring to an FBI document obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee that revealed

03:14under President Biden's watch, the FBI obtained the data of eight Republican senators' personal

03:19cell phones.

03:20The data shows who the senators spoke with and when, how long the call lasted, and where

03:26they were when they made the call.

03:27It does not include what they talked about.

03:29SAN also spoke with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal about the IRS targeting political

03:35opponents.

03:36He decided not to compare it to President Obama.

03:38Rather, he went all the way back to Richard Nixon.

03:41We've been through this kind of abuse of power before.

03:45In the Nixon administration, it's the reason that we have safeguards and guardrails that protect

03:51privacy in the IRS and why no political figure, whether it is a member of the U.S. Senate or

04:01the President of the United States, can intervene in the IRS process even to find out certain

04:07information.

04:08We need to insist that those guardrails be observed.

04:10I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Hour News.

04:13For more unbiased reporting straight from our nation's capital, download the SAN app.

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