Screenshot/US Senate Committee on Finance
Yellen: “I really am anxious to see some results here as well. I regret that I’m not able to do so.”
IRS Chief Rettig: “You know the timing isn’t helpful for maybe an agency to say what or didn’t happen.“
Americans for Tax Reform today published a new video and written timeline as we approach a full year since the revelation of a significant theft of private IRS taxpayer data.
The person or persons who stole the private files appear to have comprehensive and unfettered access to every household’s private tax information.
But finding the thief is not a top priority for the Biden administration. It is unclear if the administration has even bothered to ask for a copy of the stolen files.
Progressive outlet 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.”
To pretend the original source of these files is not the IRS is to pretend the thief was able to steal comprehensive tax information of thousands of the highest-earning Americans, year after year for 15 years, from dozens or hundreds of different tax accountants. Doesn’t pass the laugh test.
On June 8, 2021 IRS chief Charles Rettig confirmed the existence of an investigation. But on April 7, 2022 he cryptically said, “You know the timing isn’t helpful for maybe an agency to say what did or didn’t happen.”
On May 7 Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified, “I really am anxious to see some results here as well. I regret that I’m not able to do so.”
Why?
Please click here or below to see a 60-second video compilation of Yellen/Rettig testimony excerpts over the past year.
June 8, 2021: Charles Rettig, IRS Commissioner: “I can confirm that there is an investigation with respect to the allegations that the source of the information in that article came from the Internal Revenue Service.”
June 16, 2021: Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary: “And I really want to emphasize we do not know what happened”
June 23, 2021: Yellen: “We don’t yet know what occurred.”
Sept. 28, 2021: Yellen: “Just to be clear, we do not know that the ProPublica information came from the IRS.”
Nov. 30, 2021: Yellen: “We don’t know what the source of the leak of that information was.”
Apr. 7, 2022: Rettig: “I don’t believe it’s been indicated that it was actually stolen from the IRS.” “I get frustrated when investigations go on without public acknowledgement of what’s there. You know the timing isn’t helpful for maybe an agency to say what did or didn’t happen.”
April 2022: Rettig: “And 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.”
May 10, 2022: Yellen: “I really am anxious to see some results here as well. I regret that I’m not able to do so.”