'Primary concern': IRS worried Trump and Musk will exploit taxpayer info to 'go after folks'

17 February

A view of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

Centabillionaire Elon Musk's employees are now expected to gain access to the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) database containing sensitive information about taxpayers, and some agents are reportedly worried about possible political implications.

The Washington Post reported recently that Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE (which is not yet an official federal agency authorized by Congress) aims to access the agency's Integrated Data Retrieval System. That system contains private information about taxpayers, including Social Security numbers, tax refund information, whether someone has made timely child support payments and bank account information, among other data.

During a Monday segment on MSNBC, Post reporter Jacob Bogage said some agents are sounding the alarm that this information could be exploited for political purposes. He noted that there are federal laws dictating exactly how this information is — and is not — to be used.

"This system is when I call the IRS because i have a question about my taxes, whoever's on the other side of the line pulls it up and can see my log of information," Bogage said. "A political appointee does not need that information. High ranking officials don't need that information."

MSNBC host Katy Tur then asked if Bogage's sources within the IRS "are worried that politics is going to get into this," and if there is a fear "that someone with a political [agenda]" is "going to be targeting folks within the system."

"Absolutely. Yes," Bogage responded. "That is a concern that i had heard overnight from numerous people in and around [the] IRS."

Bogage noted that former Post journalist Ashley Parker, who now writes for the Atlantic, reported that in his first term, Trump had asked: "Why can't we use the IRS to go after folks?" He added that political retribution was "an acute concern, [and] the primary concern that if this information got into the wrong hands of political appointees, it would be leveraged against Donald Trump's enemies."

Watch Bogage's segment below, or by clicking this link.

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