Joe Biden weaponized the Justice Department against Donald Trump and Trump supporters; it should come as no surprise that on his way out the door, he decided to weaponize the IRS against incoming Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth revealed on Monday afternoon that the Biden administration flagged him for an IRS audit. “Of course the outgoing Biden IRS rushed an ‘audit’ of the incoming SecDef,” he wrote in a post on X. “Total sham. The party of ‘norms’ and ‘decency’ strikes again. We will never back down.”
According to the document, the family’s federal income tax return indicated they owed the federal government $33,558.16, which they paid right away to prevent additional penalties.
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Hegseth was one of the first people Trump nominated to serve in his administration. "I am honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my Cabinet as The Secretary of Defense. Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart, and a true believer in America First," Trump said in a statement on Nov. 12, 2024.
Hegseth, a veteran of the Army National Guard, was previously flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” and ordered to stand down from Joe Biden’s inauguration back in 2021.
The Associated Press reported that 12 U.S. National Guard members were removed from helping to secure Mr. Biden's 2021 inauguration after vetting by the U.S. military and FBI. They were found to have made extremist statements in posts or text messages or had ties with right-wing militia groups. In an interview with podcaster Shawn Ryan, Hegseth said he was one of the National Guard members removed from securing the inauguration.
"I was deemed an extremist because of a tattoo by my National Guard unit in Washington, D.C., and my orders were revoked to guard the Biden inauguration… a Jerusalem cross tattoo which is just a Christian symbol," he told Ryan.
But that's not the tattoo that his fellow guardsman, DeRicko Gaither, pointed out to his superiors. He told CBS News, "When I looked at the pictures – in one he had the tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross, which I didn't think was a problem."
"The next photo he had on his inner bicep he had a bicep that said 'Deux Vult,'" Gaither said. "I looked it up, and that tattoo had ties to extremist groups. So, I sent to my leadership. I included the photo attachment and the Army policy about tattoos. I said I just want you to know what's going on. I received a response saying Pete had been removed from the mission."
Biden's final weeks in office were rife with controversial acts. He unleashed a wave of highly controversial pardons, shielding criminals — including his own son — and granting preemptive clemency to political allies, including members of the January 6 Committee. In a final act of self-interest mere minutes before leaving office, he granted pardons to his own family.
These disgraceful moves turned presidential clemency into a partisan weapon, prioritizing political survival over justice. Over his four-year term, Biden issued more acts of clemency than Franklin Delano Roosevelt did in over 12 years. Will we find out soon that Biden's IRS targeted more Trump nominees?
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