Overview

• Fox News and the Washington Examiner report that Paz was terminated Monday after an internal IRS review.
• Attorney Mark Zaid says the reports are false, asserts Paz has not been fired, and threatens defamation action against Fox News.
• Paz had been placed on administrative leave in late July, according to the reporting.
• The internal review followed an April report by the conservative American Accountability Foundation alleging partisan staffing in the IRS Large Business and International Division.
• Sources characterize the action as part of acting IRS commissioner Scott Bessent’s effort to depoliticize the agency, against the backdrop of TIGTA’s 2013 findings and a 2017 IRS apology over the Tea Party targeting controversy.