“The swamp,” or “the deep state,” if you prefer calling it that, are always more than happy to help “the cause” by providing otherwise classified information, making available personal and protected information, and leaking anything else that is required to the “biased, liberal propaganda, fake news media.”
In this case, we have a person, or people, from the IRS, who have provided some of President Trump’s tax return information to The “failing” New York Times.
According to Hans A. von Spakovsky, a Senior Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, for Fox News, “NY Times publication of Trump tax information violates his legal right to confidentiality.”
“The New York Times no doubt considers it quite a coup to have obtained and published President Trump’s tax return information from 1985 to 1994. But doing so violated President Trump’s right under federal law to the confidentiality of his tax returns.”
Just a minor consideration, in their eyes, I’m sure.
“The Times – which reported on Trump’s businesses…has no more right to Trump’s tax returns than it has to mine or those of any of you reading these words.”
I keep having to remind all of these people that all of these “rights” and “laws” of protection only apply to card carrying members of “the swamp;” conservatives and republicans and all the rest of us peasants operate at the mercy of democrats and “the deep state.”
“Confidentiality, as the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in 1991 in U.S. v. Richey, is essential to ‘maintaining a workable tax system.’”
Hmmm…, the Ninth Circuit Court? Isn’t that the court out on the left coast that is constantly trying to legislate from the bench?
I guarantee you that the “U.S. v. Richey” case either protected a liberal or attacked a conservative.
“Taxpayer privacy is ‘fundamental to a tax system that relies on self-reporting’ since it protects ‘sensitive or otherwise personal information,’ said then-Judge (now Supreme Court Justice) Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1986 in another case when she served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.”
Hmmm…, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia? The most liberal court in the land; second only to the Ninth Circuit Court we mentioned previously.
RBG of course was referring to the privacy of democrats and liberals at the time, I’m sure, and not conservatives or republicans.
“Regardless of the accuracy or inaccuracy of The New York Times story, tax returns themselves, as well as tax return information such as these IRS transcripts (which are a summary of the tax returns), are protected from disclosure by federal law.”
“Federal law – 26 U.S.C. §7213(a) (1) – makes it a felony for any federal employee to disclose tax returns or “return information.” Infractions are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine as high as $250,000 under the Alternative Fines Act (18 U.S.C. §3571).”
“According to the newspaper, it did not actually obtain Trump’s tax returns but ‘printouts from his official Internal Revenue Service tax transcripts, with the figures from his federal tax form, the 1040, from someone who had legal access to them.’”
Yes…, THEY (Meaning a liberal IRS confidant; probably Lois Lerner’s brother or sister!) had legal access to them. But THEY did not have the rights to give others access to them.
“Regardless of the accuracy or inaccuracy of The New York Times story, tax returns themselves, as well as tax return information such as these IRS transcripts (which are a summary of the tax returns), are protected from disclosure by federal law. If the newspaper obtained this information from an employee of the IRS, that employee will be in big trouble if he or she is identified.”
“Could the editors and reporters at the New York Times be prosecuted for publishing this information?”
“Section (a)(3) of the law makes it a felony for ANY PERSON who receives an illegally disclosed tax return or return information to publish that return or that information. But it’s unknown if the bar on publication by a media organization could survive a First Amendment challenge.”
I believe the words “ANY PERSON” would mean “ANY PERSON,” but that’s just me!
“Now the interests of protecting the privacy of taxpayers warrants the opening of a government investigation to find the leaker who provided the Trump tax information to The New York Times.”
YES! Bravo!
“The IRS and the U.S. Justice Department should investigate how this disclosure happened, find out who did it, and prosecute anyone who violated the law.”
Again…, YES! Bravissimo!
Why do these people seemingly do whatever they want and always get away with it? It’s way past time that we start to hold these government weasels accountable.
DRAIN THE SWAMP!
DRAIN THE SWAMP!
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Mr. Erickson Rules! 
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