By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
One month after TGM published a special report on the purchase of millions of dollars’ worth of weapons and tactical equipment by the Internal Revenue Service, an Oklahoma Republican member of Congress is requesting a full accounting of the guns and gear the tax agency has purchased.
The request was made by U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice on Monday in a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.
The TGM Special Report, headlined “Biden Weaponizing IRS into Well-Armed Paramilitary Force,” was written by Lee Williams, editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s “Investigative Journalism Project.” It was published June 23 and circulated widely within the firearms media.
At the time, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) had recently introduced her “Why does the IRS Have Guns Act,” aimed at stopping the IRS from buying and storing anymore firearms and ammunition, and transferring what arms the agency had to the General Services Administration, which would then auction off the arms to federally licensed firearms dealers. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division would also be moved under the control of the Justice Department.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms quickly announced its support for the bill. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb,, in a prepared statement, mused, “One has to wonder whether IRS agents are working for the taxpayers, or preparing to go to war against them. The worst thing people should ever face from the IRS is an audit, not a firing squad.”
Now, Fox News is reporting that Rep. Bice wants details on the following:
“1. Information on the account(s) the IRS has used to purchase such weapons, gear, and ammunition.
“2. Data on the quantity and type(s) of items listed below in possession of the IRS:
• Weapons
• Weapons systems
• Ammunition
• Explosive devices
• Armored vehicles
• Drones/UAVs
• Chemical weapons (tear gas and other calming agents)
“3. I’d also like to request data on the types of modifications to IRS-issued weapons that have been approved by the UOF Senior Analyst, NCITA, and the number of such requests that have been approved.”
On June 27, Ammoland News carried a report on an IRS raid of a gun store in Great Falls, Mont. Involving at last 20 heavily-armed IRS agents. They seized several boxes of Form 4473 documents from the store, spurring demands from U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale, the latter whose congressional district encompasses Great Falls, for an explanation from the IRS for the heavy-handed raid. Rosendale sent a letter to ATF Director Steve Dettelbach and Werfel, demanding answers.
In his report, Williams—a former police officer and military veteran, known widely as “The Gunwriter”—observed, “The IRS is preparing for battle. Some of the weapons and tactical equipment currently in their inventory are used by elite military commandos, not American law enforcement officers. To be clear, none of this extreme militarization occurred until after (President Joe) Biden took office.”
In his mid-June statement, Gottlieb asked, “Why has the IRS spent millions of dollars on weapons and ammunition since the start of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago? According to a published report, the agency spent $2.3 million on ammunition, another $1.2 million on ballistic shields, $243,000 on body armor, nearly $475,000 on Smith & Wesson rifles and $463,000 on Beretta tactical shotguns.”
In her letter to Werfel, Rep. Bice noted, “It is important for Congress to conduct thorough oversight of IRS, and the American people deserve to have a full accounting of these recent events.”
She asked for a reply within five business days.
