Category Weaponized IRS

Aug 18 2022

Newsweek Sources Claim FBI Raid Was Cover for DOJ to Retrieve Russiagate Evidence Held by Donald Trump


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 17, 2022 | Sundance

Not wanting to put too much credibility behind any Newsweek report; however, the claims within the article mirror what we have suspected all along. [Article Here]

Essentially, the nub of the article states the DOJ claim to “retrieve federal documents” was a cover story so the FBI could retrieve evidence Trump took from DC showing his Russiagate targeting.  This is called “throwing a bag over it.”

Newsweek – The FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago last Monday was specifically intended to recover Donald Trump’s personal “stash” of hidden documents, two high-level U.S. intelligence officials tell Newsweek.

To justify the unprecedented raid on a former president’s residence and protect the source who revealed the existence of Trump’s private hoard, agents went into Trump’s residence on the pretext that they were seeking all government documents, says one official who has been involved in the investigation. But the true target was this private stash, which Justice Department officials feared Donald Trump might weaponize.

“They collected everything that rightfully belonged to the U.S. government but the true target was these documents that Trump had been collecting since early in his administration,” says the source, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.

The sought-after documents deal with a variety of intelligence matters of interest to the former president, the officials suggest—including material that Trump apparently thought would exonerate him of any claims of Russian collusion in 2016 or any other election-related charges. (read more)

In a lengthy four-part series, what is described in the Newsweek article essentially tracks with our own review.

In Part One we outlined the background of the modern Deep State {Go Deep}. In Part Two we outlined the specifics of how President Trump was targeted by political operatives using tools created by the DC system {Go Deep}.  In Part Three we outlined how and why President Trump was blocked from releasing documents {Go Deep}.  In Part Four we outlined the specifics of what documents likely existed in Mar-a-Lago {Go Deep}.

Take out the leftist slant intended to make President Trump look like he did something wrong, and the Newsweek article sounds mostly accurate.

[ READ CTH PERSPECTIVE HERE ]

Aug 18 2022

Ron DeSantis Wins the Coveted David Frum Endorsement – The Acceptable Republican Presidential Candidate


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 17, 2022 | Sundance

In addition to being a featured writer in The Atlantic, David Frum is a tenured member of the republican professional political class.  Frum has a similar pedigree to many well-known republican politicians, and his curriculum vitae includes:

“David Frum has been active in Republican politics since the first Reagan campaign of 1980. From 2014 through 2017, Frum served as chairman of the board of trustees of the leading UK center-right think tank, Policy Exchange. In 2001-2002, he served as speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush.

David Frum holds a BA and MA in history from Yale and a law degree from Harvard, where he served as President of the Federalist Society.  He and his wife Danielle Crittenden Frum live in Washington DC and Wellington, Ontario. They have three adult children.” (link)

[ Source Link ]

Aug 18 2022

Following Boost of $80 Billion from Congress, Treasury Secretary Tells IRS Enforcement to Prepare for New Technology Era


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 17, 2022 | Sundance

When congress approved $80 billion in new funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement division, the intellectually honest crowd knew this was not just about hiring more IRS agents.  Indeed, the personnel side of the spending will almost certainly pale in comparison to the IRS creating new technological enforcement mechanisms to track electronic payment systems.  Ultimately, it’s just an obvious evolution in IRS monitoring and surveillance.

Today, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seemed to outline exactly that when she sent the IRS a memo instructing them to develop an action plan within six months for how to improve the technology needed to expand enforcement {link}.  What we are likely to experience is the next phase in the public-private partnership, this time focused almost exclusively on electronic payment systems, income and earnings.

On August 10th, after reviewing the legislative language, CTH said, “I predict (in phase one) the IRS will soon create an office of “digital income verification and audits” or DIVA. This agency will be used to confiscate and remove access to on-line funds. In phase two they trigger the ‘climate change’ control mechanisms.”  {link} It’s not that much of a prediction as it is just an acceptance of this ongoing big government continuum. 

An IRS enforcement agency specifically focused on “Digital Income Verification and Audits” (DIVA), is a transparent mechanism following the basic principles of the government partnership with big tech social media.  The IRS version will be a collaboration, and/or monitoring system, between the Treasury Dept and processors of on-line funds like PayPal or GiveSendGo, etc.   Just like social media, the payment processing systems will eventually be merged with government systems.

Once this technological system is built, legal and regulatory framework constructed, real time monitoring of on-line currency flow will be possible.  Once that phase is fully executed, then phase-2 becomes possible.  Phase two would likely involve the control or blocking of any transaction deemed against the regulations of the governing authority.

Example: If you used your debit card to purchase too much gasoline (fossil fuel) or meat (regulated food product), the carbon credit program attached to phase-2 could suspend your ability to make purchases.

The first step in the process is to have a surveillance system in place to view all monetary exchanges and payment processes that happen on-line.  Thus, Secretary Yellen is asking the compliance division of the IRS for an action plan within six months to outline the IRS technology needed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that President Joe Biden signed Democrats’ expansive climate, tax and health care bill into law, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has directed the IRS to develop a plan within six months outlining how the tax agency will overhaul its technology, customer service and hiring processes.

In part, the improvements are meant to “end the two-tiered tax system, where most Americans pay what they owe, but those at the top of the distribution often do not,” Yellen said in a Tuesday memo to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, whose term ends in three months.

Yellen’s memo, obtained by The Associated Press, outlines the importance of modernizing IRS computer systems and ensuring the agency has an adequately-staffed workforce now that the tax collector is set to receive nearly $80 billion over the next 10 years. That funding is needed for more than technology. At least 50,000 IRS employees are expected to retire over the next five years.

[…] Yellen last week sent instructions to IRS leadership not to increase audit rates on Americans making under $400,000 a year annually.

“Instead, enforcement resources will focus on high-end noncompliance,” she said in her Aug. 11 guidance. “There, sustained, multi-year funding is so critical to the agency’s ability to make the investments needed to pursue a robust attack on the tax gap.” (read more)

That’s a parseltongue phrase if I have ever seen one.  “Do not increase audit rates,” simply means if 75% of current audits are targeting the middle class within the current IRS budget, make sure only 75% of new audits target the middle class with the doubled budget.   The number of audits doubles, but the rate of the audit in comparison to the IRS targeting remains the same.

Keep in mind, from their reference point it’s not your money, it’s theirs.  That is why left-wing government officials use phrases like “spending in the tax code” to explain allowing people to keep their own income.

Aug 18 2022

Target Profit Drops 90% in Second Quarter as Inflation Changes Consumer Purchasing


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 17, 2022 | Sundance

In the second quarter of 2021 Target earned $1.82 billion in profit.  In the second quarter this year, target earned $183 million. That’s the result of inflation hitting the middle-class consumer.

Few people are buying electronics, home goods, durables or clothing.  Any retailer that specializes in the sale of non-essential items is going to feel the financial results of working-class families reprioritizing their spending.  Checkbook economics is the economics that matters.

Hopefully, CTH readers are well prepared for this phase of the Joe Biden economy. It will almost certainly get worse.

(Daily Mail) – Target reported on Wednesday that its profits plunged nearly 90 percent last quarter after it was forced to slash prices to clear unwanted inventories of clothing, home goods and electronics.

In early June, Target warned that it was canceling orders from suppliers and aggressively cutting prices because of a pronounced spending shift by Americans as inflation cuts into spending on non-essential items.

US retailers have cut their profit forecasts in recent weeks as consumers squeezed by higher prices for essentials such as food and gas cut back on items like apparel and electronics.

[…] ‘Americans have had to trade down or delay purchases as inflation continues to squeeze household budgets,’ Morning Consult’s retail and e-commerce analyst Claire Tassin told DailyMail.com. (read more)

The cascading impact will flow through multiple sectors, including housing.

(Forbes) – Despite falling mortgage rates providing some relief to potential home buyers, mortgage applications fell to the lowest level since the turn of the century last week—providing fresh evidence that the housing market downturn may have room to run as some experts worry about how the collapse will damage the broader economy.

Mortgage applications fell 2.3% from one week earlier, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, pushing overall applications to the lowest level since 2000 even as rates on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage slipped to a two-month low of less than 5.5%. (read more)

Aug 18 2022

Mike Pence Denounces Calls to Defund the FBI


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 17, 2022 | Sundance

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered an establishment republican party speech at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, today.  During his prepared remarks, Pence denounced the effort of some people in the republican party who call for defunding the FBI.

According to Pence he was, “deeply troubled” by the behavior of the justice department and the FBI during their raid on President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago. Pence continued by saying the FBI “rank and file” should not be attacked or disparaged for the political agenda exhibited by the organization they represent.  It’s a weird statement when you think about it in context.

The FBI as an institution doesn’t do anything; it is the men and women within the institution that take actions based on corrupt political intent.  The only way to address the behavior of the FBI is to do exactly the opposite of what Pence is saying.  Institutions are made up of people. The rank and file within that corrupt system are the people carrying out the corrupt endeavors.  The audio is a little poor, but here is the segment, WATCH:

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Aug 17 2022

IRS Agents Training to Raid Homes


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Aug 17, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The Internal Revenue Service 2021 report contains a bit more information about who the IRS aims to target – you. These special IRS Criminal Investigation agents are armed and ready to prevent a penny from leaving the government’s control. After only six months of training, these armed accountants will learn how to use weapons and other law enforcement tactics against the general population.

Agents at the National Criminal Investigation Training Academy (NCITA) participated in mock raids on suburban houses. The Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) is followed by a 14-week NCITA Special Agent Investigative Techniques (SAIT) course. “The SAIT program trains new agents in tax law, evidence gathering, interviewing, report writing, methods of proving unreported income, and money laundering violations. It also provides physical fitness conditioning and use of force training, which includes firearms, weaponless tactics, and building entry,” the report states.

Additionally, agents will need to complete quarterly training in “firearms, defensive tactics, and building entry.” How often do they plan to raid homes under the guise of taxes? The report states that these agents will “use good judgment” in order “to apply the appropriate degree of force necessary to safely carry out enforcement activities, including issuing search warrants, arrests, surveillance, dignitary protection, undercover activities, and seizures.”

They are not doing this on a grand scale to target drug dealers and organized crime leaders. The government is preparing an independent army of IRS agents who can work undercover, spy on citizens, and seize assets under their “good judgment.” Very “Orwellian” indeed.

Aug 16 2022

Desperate Times in Lebanon


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Aug 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Desperate times drive people to desperate measures. A Lebanese man made international headlines after holding 10 people hostage in a seven-hour standoff with authorities before surrendering. This man was not attempting to steal from the bank and had no intention of harming anyone. He is a victim of Lebanon’s economic catastrophe, and this is a very sad story of what can happen when banks fail.

Lebanese banks have placed harsh limits on withdrawals since 2019. The man, who entered the bank with a gun and gasoline, was pleading for $35,000 of his own money in order to pay for his father’s healthcare.

The Lebanese lira declined by over 90% against the USD. The country’s GDP fell to $20.5 billion in 2021, and real GDP per capita declined 37.1%. The World Bank deemed the crisis a “deliberate depression” that was “manifested by a collapse of the most basic public services; persistent and debilitating internal political discord; and mass brain drain.” Inflation in Lebanon reached 210.08% in June, and the lira is utterly worthless. Food prices have spiked 332.35%, transportation 462.4%, and housing by 132.38%.

Billionaire Prime Minister Najib Mikati, one of the richest men in the Arab world, has done nothing to help the people. Time has run out for Lebanon, and the people need a complete political transformation to regain any quality of life.

Aug 15 2022

The IRS Targets the Poorest Americans


Armstrong Economics Blog/The Hunt for Taxes Re-Posted Aug 15, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claims that they will not target lower and middle-class Americans under their staff expansion. This is a lie a they already target the poorest households at five times the rate of other income brackets.

Trac IRS examined the audit figures from FY 2021. The IRS audited 659,003 returns last year out of the 160 million filed. So out of every 1,000 filers, four were targeted for audits. This is already an increase from 2020, when three out of every 1,000 filers were investigated. Prior to 2020, audit rates had been declining.

The IRS uses “correspondence audits” to request additional documentation to prove that the filings are accurate. These correspondence audits compiled 85% of all audits conducted last year, marking a 5% increase from the previous two years. Some Americans live on such a small income that they file for an anti-poverty tax credit. Those earning a mere $25,000 annually or less accounted for 54% of all correspondence audits.

The idea that this expanded branch of government will target the dreaded rich is a lie. Around nine million taxpayers in the highest bracket earned between $200,000 to $1,000,000 but were only targeted at one-third of the rate compared to the poorest in the country. In fact, less than 40,000 returns among the top-tier tax bracket were targeted. Only 13,725 people earning over $1 million were targeted. The IRS is basically asking the most desperate among us to prove that they are poor.

With new resources and funding, the IRS will target EVERYONE.