Rettig: “The delay in getting answers for the public certainly impacts the ability of the public to have trust and respect for the Internal Revenue Service.”

In congressional testimony today IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig called out the Biden administration for “the delay in getting answers for the public” regarding stolen, private taxpayer data published by the progressive organization, ProPublica.

Addressing the House Oversight and Government Operations Subcommittee, Rettig said:

“I don’t believe there has been a public statement that it actually was a leak or a breach from the Internal Revenue Service where that data came from. So I put that on pause.

And Ranking Member, like you, I share the concern that the delay in getting answers for the public certainly impacts the ability of the public to have trust and respect for the Internal Revenue Service.”

Rettig made the remark in response to a query from Congressman Jody Hice (R-Ga.)

Rettig then said the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration could detect unauthorized employee snooping “in a fairly timely manner.”

He said: “We do have a tracking — and actually TIGTA has the ability to see that as well in a fairly timely manner.”

So what is taking so long?

Rettig raised eyebrows earlier this month when he testified under oath that, “You know, the timing isn’t helpful for maybe an agency to say what did or didn’t happen.”

Over ten months ago — on June 8, 2021 — it was revealed that the private tax files of “thousands” of Americans had been stolen and given to ProPublica. The IRS and the Biden administration immediately vowed to investigate and prosecute.

Progressive Pro Publica continues to publish private details from what the group calls “secret IRS files.” The cache is described as “a vast amount of information. It’s not just tax returns. It’s also things like records of stock trades, information that is sent to the IRS about financial activities.”

Yet here we are 10 months later with no answers from the government, while Democrats push for even more power for the IRS.

It is unclear whether or not investigators have even bothered to ask ProPublica for a copy of the stolen, private information.

Video of Rettig’s remark can be viewed below. Stay tuned to www.ATR.org for updates.