DL Open Thread: Friday, July 8, 2022
Trump’s IRS Head Used Audits As Weapon. Biden was apparently considering reappointing him:
Charles Rettig, whose elevation by Trump to lead the service in 2018 surprised many tax professionals when it was announced, faced new scrutiny after the New York Times revealed that both former FBI director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe, were the subjects of highly unusual audits for which the IRS says were selected at random. The Washington Post has confirmed the audits.
Rettig was a tax attorney in Beverly Hills, Calif., when Trump put him in charge of the agency, which employs about 71,000 full-time staffers. He had defended a billionaire the IRS accused of hiding money in offshore accounts, a venture capitalist the agency alleged used sham accounting to shelter assets, and the heirs of a millionaire defense contractor who sought to fend off inheritance taxes.
He started out as a Trump ally when his four-year term began in 2018, shielding the former president’s tax returns from public view in the face of a House Democratic lawsuit. But Rettig has proved a willing partner for the Biden administration, as well, supporting its efforts to close the gap between what taxpayers owe and what they pay, and implementing expansive new stimulus measures.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Assassinated. American influence is everywhere:
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, died on Friday at 67, after being shot while campaigning for a candidate ahead of national elections.
The police arrested a suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, on an initial charge of attempted murder before Mr. Abe’s death was announced.
Fossil Fuel Firms Preparing ‘Carbon Bombs’ That Will Accelerate Global Warming:
The world’s biggest fossil fuel firms are quietly planning scores of “carbon bomb” oil and gas projects that would drive the climate past internationally agreed temperature limits with catastrophic global impacts, a Guardian investigation shows.
The exclusive data shows these firms are in effect placing multibillion-dollar bets against humanity halting global heating. Their huge investments in new fossil fuel production could pay off only if countries fail to rapidly slash carbon emissions, which scientists say is vital.
The oil and gas industry is extremely volatile but extraordinarily profitable, particularly when prices are high, as they are at present. ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron have made almost $2tn in profits in the past three decades, while recent price rises led BP’s boss to describe the company as a “cash machine”.
Somebody alert John Carney. And, uh, Joe Biden.
“The latest mass murder in America didn’t involve guns,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a recorded campaign radio ad slated to appear on July 6. But when the Highland Park, Illinois, shooting took place on July 4, killing seven and injuring 46 others, the campaign scrambled to keep the ad from hitting the airwaves, according to emails obtained by The Intercept.
The campaign ad, approved by Johnson and paid for by his Senate campaign committee as he seeks reelection, laid blame for the “latest mass murder” on President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
Gotta love this e-mail:
“URGENT: Ron Johnson orders,” a vice president of sales at Katz Radio Group wrote, “they need the creative pulled ASAP. … If you listened to the spot it talks about mass shootings which obviously is not good creative after this past weekend (especially in Chicago).”
Obviously not good creative.
I don’t have enough new material for a Speaker Pete ‘Unavailable For Comment’ Watch for today. However, now that a senior House staffer has come over here to rationalize away Deb Heffernan’s self-inflicted ethical dilemma (gotta love both the ‘staffer couldn’t get a room’ and the ‘Carney wanted the bill killed’ defenses), perhaps she will help to coax Pete out of whatever bunker he’s holed up in. Come to think of it, ditto for Deb. Where is she? That would be a public service.
What do you want to talk about?
