New Trump scheme seeks to let loyalists hunt down left-wing groups through IRS

The Trump administration is planning massive changes that will allow the IRS to go after left-wing groups, according to a new report late Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal.

The change would allow the administration to stack the IRS's criminal investigation unit with Trump allies "to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations," the report said, citing anonymous officials.

"A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said," according to the Journal. That includes billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and groups tied to him.

Gary Shapley, an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is reportedly behind the effort and has said he plans to oust the unit's current head, Guy Ficco. The team, which has more than 2,000 agents, probes potential criminal tax code violations and helps other agencies take on financial crimes.

Shapley has proposed changes to the rules on how IRS criminal investigations are conducted.

"Attorneys from the IRS chief counsel’s office typically work with IRS-CI agents as they move through investigations, particularly for steps such as search warrants and bringing a case to the Justice Department for potential prosecutions. The Internal Revenue Manual, the agency’s procedure handbook, spells out the involvement of chief-counsel lawyers and the CI chief in criminal cases. It includes extra steps for sensitive cases, such as those involving federal elected officials and tax-exempt groups," the report said.

"Shapley wants to change the manual so that the chief-counsel lawyers have less of a role," the report noted.