Trump admin to use IRS to track down funders of left-wing political violence

The administration has been raising questions as to what organizations have been funding these protests and demonstrations, many of which see activists show up with matching signs. Antifa-affiliated agitators have often shown up with identical shields to protect themselves from rubber bullets or pepper balls.

President Trump raised the issue in a recent cabinet meeting when discussing anti-ICE protests and riots with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. "This is a sick situation," Trump said, "but those are anarchists. Those are people that want to overthrow the government, they're really degenerates. And we're finding out who is supplying all of those beautiful signs and everything else."

"That's been fantastic," Noem said, referencing Bessent. "His team finding the financial networks is great. That's what everybody—"

"Ok, Scott," Trump said, "Scott will do that. That's easy for Scott, right?"

Bessent replied, "We've got a great team, sir." The Wall Street Journal reports that a "senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors."

Speaking to Andrew Kolvet on The Charlie Kirk Show, Vice President JD Vance spoke about Bessent's efforts to find the funding sources for the leftist political violence. "A lot of this is financial," he said, "if a brick gets thrown through a wall at a government building, who bought the brick? If somebody shows up and is a paid protester then riots and commits an act of violence, who paid for it?"

Bessent was on the show the day prior, confirming plans to use the IRS to track down funding sources. "We have started to compile lists of the other networks, and there’s a long record here," Bessent said. "This is mission-critical for us now…. We are operationalizing this here at Treasury. We are going to track down who is responsible for this."

As part of Bessent's effort, he is reportedly replacing chief of the IRS investigative unit Guy Ficco, who has been in that position since April 2024. He served as the deputy chief prior to that and has been with the IRS since 1995. Gary Shapley is reportedly going to be taking over the position.

Shapley was an IRS whistleblower who was investigating Hunter Biden's tax crimes when he was essentially instructed to slow-walk the investigation until after the presidential election of 2020 was in the bag for Joe Biden. The IRS started its investigation of Hunter Biden in 2018 over alleged tax crimes, but Shapley says those efforts were hampered by the DOJ. Hunter Biden eventually pleaded guilty to the federal charges before he was pardoned by his father.

"Shapley has been putting together a list of donors and groups he believes IRS investigators should look at," the Journal reports. Those on the list include George Soros, the billionaire Democrat founder of the Open Society Foundations. That foundation funds Indivisible which is an organization founded with the express purpose to resist Trump.

Indivisible has backed and organized the "No Kings" protests, many of which have been planned for October 18. The group was founded in 2016 as a reaction to the election of Donald Trump to his first term in office.

The Post Millennial senior editor Andy Ngo revealed that much of the source of funding for Antifa related activities comes through philanthropic charities that are left-leaning, but that an additional, large amount of funding comes through crowd sourcing. There has also been evidence that anti-ICE agitators have been collaborating to a certain extent with drug cartels as each of them has the same mission: to crack back open the border.

"Trump," the Journal states, "has ordered Bessent as the acting IRS commissioner to refer certain tax-exempt organizations to the Justice Department for further investigation. Bessent has also been directed to use the Treasury’s terrorism and financial-intelligence office to examine groups’ financial flows and try to trace any illicit funding streams."

There have been concerns that the IRS non-profit tax designation rules have not been properly enforced and that some charities and institutions that hold that status could be in violation of the laws governing their status. Administration officials have argued that universities that allowed antisemitic protests on campus could be in violation of law for essentially supporting terrorism.