There IS a specific Federal Law against the request to the IRS by DOGE’s Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos….
So far?
The IRS has REFUSED the request….
Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos, DOGE representatives embedded at the tax agency, on Friday asked IRS lawyers to assist in creating an “omnibus” agreement with other federal agencies that would allow a broad swath of federal officials to cross-reference benefits rolls with taxpayer data, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
The request prompted significant alarm within the IRS, the people said. By law, taxpayer data is heavily guarded — improper disclosure carries both civil and criminal penalties — and the agency closely polices how other federal officials use its systems, as well. IRS lawyers quickly arrived at the conclusion that DOGE’s request would violate privacy laws, the people said. Federal statute makes it illegal for the IRS to share taxpayer data with other agencies for reasons unrelated to administering taxes…
…
The request escalates the Trump administration’s increasing interest in controlling sensitive IRS data. DOGE previously asked for sweeping access to IRS systems that would have provided access to financial information on virtually every individual, business and nonprofit in the country. The Department of Homeland Security in recent days also asked the IRS for the home addresses of 700,000 peoplesuspected of being in the country illegally, The Post reported Friday. And Kliger and Corcos are seeking access to IRS procurement systems, the people said, to audit the tax agency’s contracts.
So far, IRS leaders have rebuffed those inquiries, the people said, but acting commissioner Melanie Krause, who took over at the agency Friday night, has indicated she is interested in complying with DOGE’s requests….
…
Kliger’s agreement to work at the IRS prevents him from accessing personal taxpayer data. Corcos has not yet been granted access to IRS systems because of data privacy concerns, the three people said….
…
The DOGE request reflects Musk’s broader desire to root out wasteful federal payments. The billionaire Trump adviser has argued that poor technical systems and bureaucratic ineptitude contribute to hundreds of billions of dollars in fraudulent payments each year, which if eliminated could help close the federal deficit. Longtime budget experts in both parties have ridiculed this idea as wildly unrealistic, saying fraud and waste only account for a few billion dollars of the government’s roughly $2 trillion annual deficit.
But Musk has continued to assert without evidence that better tracking of federal spending would help solve the nation’s fiscal imbalance…
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.