Overview

• The Wall Street Journal reports the administration is preparing to install allies inside the IRS Criminal Investigation unit to make it easier to pursue cases against left-leaning groups.
• Senior IRS official Gary Shapley is described as leading the effort, proposing rule and manual changes to reduce chief-counsel lawyers’ roles and signaling plans to replace division chief Guy Ficco.
• Sources told the Journal that a list of potential targets includes major Democratic donors, with George Soros and Soros-affiliated groups among those named.
• Acting IRS commissioner and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Treasury is compiling networks and operationalizing efforts to trace funding tied to alleged left-wing violence.
• No charges tied to the new push have been announced, and legal experts and commentators warn the plans echo past abuses that laws and norms were designed to prevent.