Armed IRS Agents Rounding Up Gun Purchase Records

[jasper2408]

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen spoke to Breitbart News Saturday morning and told us that armed IRS agents rolled into Great Falls’ Highwood Creek Outfitters Wednesday and seized dozens of boxes of ATF form 4473s, the background check form containing information on gun purchasers.

The agents hit the store prior to regular business hours, KRTV reported.

Store owner Tom Van Hoose said, “At 7:30, I came in and they pulled in behind me with 20 heavily armed agents.”

He said by the time all was said and done, the agents left him with about 30 minutes of time to do business so he lost virtually an entire business day.

Van Hoose believes his store is targeted because he sells guns the White House opposes: “I can only assume that it’s because of the style of weapons that we have and the press that’s so against them. The current administration seems to be hell-bent on getting those guns out of the hands of average Americans.”

The ATF form 4473 has a gun purchaser’s name, address, birthdate, state/city of birth, gender, social security number, and the serial number of any guns purchased in the store. The information is perfectly suited for use in a registry or registry database.

The danger of federal agents taking this information was not lost on AG Knudsen, who told Breitbart News, “I spoke with the shop owner who told me that 20 heavily armed IRS agents from multiple states in our region served a warrant before his business opened. They took dozens of boxes full of 4473s — more than a decade’s worth. This is extremely concerning because it seemingly exceeds the search warrant which limited the scope of the search to financial records. These aren’t financial records, they’re records of lawful firearm purchases. What the hell does the IRS need with 4473s? We know the ATF in Washington, DC is trying to scoop up as many of these purchase records as possible, and that’s what it looks like they’re trying to do here.”

Knudsen added, “There’s a clear and disturbing pattern developing of the Biden administration sending federal agents to harass American gun owners, shops, and manufacturers.”

He also noted that this harassment is happening while Biden is pushing to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), thereby opening up gun makers to lawsuits over the illegal use of firearms.

Knudsen said, “Biden wants to repeal PLCAA so they can shut down gun companies and coerce states to implement ‘red flag’ laws so firearms can be seized without due process. Now, they’re sending federal agents door-to-door in my state to intimidate people. There’s no question about it, this is the most anti-gun administration in the nation’s history.”

This article is from the Breitbart website. Had to post this extra text as it wouldn't let me copy-paste the story text unless I added some text to my post. Must be in the page formatting somehow.

[Double Naught Spy]

Van Hoose believes his store is targeted because he sells guns the White House opposes:

We know the ATF in Washington, DC is trying to scoop up as many of these purchase records as possible, and that’s what it looks like they’re trying to do here.”

If that is the case, then we will see this a virtually all gun stores. Otherwise, my guess is that there is some potentially dubious dealings from the store.

I am not sure what, if any, bearing this has on the deal, but the gun store is for sale.
https://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Oppo...e/2022680/
https://commercial.century21.com/listing...N021545722

[grayfox]

Possible, although being for sale does not put the 4473 forms "in play" as it were, afaik.
The chilling potential is that IRS agents, recently armed to the teeth under Bidenlaw, would conflate 4473 forms into revenue-linked items. Rather than, say, register receipts or the bank records of the firm.
What a mockery this makes of anything legit from them. After all, from this one could argue that anything you possess is fair game for IRS to confiscate under a vague warrant. And I'm not just talking about attempts to recover back taxes, this puts everything on their shopping list. The Sherrif of Nottingham and Prince John must be rejoicing from the grave in all this; serfs of this country (for that is what the leftist considers all of us) take note.
After all, the second Amendment is, under their theory, the "second govt permission". And the Bill of Rights is merely the Bill of Permissions.

[montana]

If that is the case, then we will see this a virtually all gun stores. Otherwise, my guess is that there is some potentially dubious dealings from the store.

I am not sure what, if any, bearing this has on the deal, but the gun store is for sale.
https://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Oppo...e/2022680/
https://commercial.century21.com/listing...N021545722

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a lawyer, the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you.Obviously they never gave any reason other than they are investigating..Mean while whistle blowers in government agencies are ignored, fired or reprimanded..These are the actions of a banana republic, not a Constitutional Republic..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRaRL52DOIg

https://montanatalks.com/developing-stor...gun-store/

[eggman918]

A hundred years ago my family had issues with "revenuers" and IIRC when they are involved the burden of proof is on the accused and not the state, now IF that still holds true could that be why IRS was the agency that took action?

[Double Naught Spy]

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a lawyer, the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you.Obviously they never gave any reason other than they are investigating..Mean while whistle blowers in government agencies are ignored, fired or reprimanded..These are the actions of a banana republic, not a Constitutional Republic..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRaRL52DOIg

https://montanatalks.com/developing-stor...gun-store/

The gun shop owner hasn't been charged with anything.

From the ATF...

ATF Inspections and Outcomes

Applicable Laws and Regulations: 18 U.S.C. § 923; 27 CFR § 478.23, 479.22

ATF may enter the premises and places of storage of any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector during business hours for the purposes of inspecting or examining the records, documents, ammunition and firearms and to ensure compliance with GCA recordkeeping requirements. Compliance inspections are conducted by ATF’s industry operations investigators (IOIs). Inspections are generally unannounced, occur during the licensee’s business hours, and may also include an inspection of off-site storage locations, if any. ATF is generally limited to the inspection of a licensee not more than once during any 12-month period. ATF, however, may contact a licensee at any time with respect to records maintained by the licensee that relate to a firearm involved in a criminal investigation. If a licensee refuses to comply by not letting the IOI enter the business premises or inspect their inventory and records, this conduct is considered a willful violation of the GCA and ATF will pursue revocation of the license. While the GCA does not define “willful,” Federal courts have held that a willful violation of the GCA’s regulations occurs when the FFL commits the violation with an intentional disregard of a known legal duty or with plain indifference to their legal obligations.

------

Except for limited permit holders, any ATF officer may, without a warrant, enter during business hours the premises, including places of storage, of any licensee or permittee for the purpose of inspecting or examining any records or documents required to be kept by the law and regulations and any explosive materials kept or stored at the premises. For inspection purposes, "business hours" includes hours during which business is actually conducted, not just those hours stated on license or permit applications.

Any licensee or permittee who refuses to permit the inspection or examination is subject to having his or her license or permit revoked, as well as to denial of an application to renew the license or permit.

For limited permit holders, an ATF officer may inspect the places of storage for explosive materials of either an applicant for a limited permit or at the time of renewal of such permit, but in no event shall such inspection occur more than once every three years.

[18 U.S.C. 843(b)(4), 18 U.S.C. 843(f)]

[jasper2408]

The IRS was in charge of this raid and not the ATF. The IRS is the one that served the search warrant. ATF was only assisting and not in charge. It also doesn't look like he is selling the store as he says that he is going to fight it.

Here is another article that has a few more details:

Tom Van Hoose has owned Highwood Creed Outfitters in Great Falls, Montana for 13 years. As he pulled into work Wednesday morning, twenty heavily armed Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division agents swarmed his store. He tells TTAG that the IRS agents, in full battle rattle, had been mustered from as far away as Denver and Idaho to serve a warrant for his financial records.

He told us the IRS claims that he has under-reported and failed to report millions of dollars of income. Mr. Van Hoose denied that categorically and told us that anyone who knows anything about the gun business knows there’s not a lot of extra revenue in running a retail gun store and range.

Highwood Creek Outfitters was closed down Wednesday while the agents rifled through his records. The IRS CID troops took ten hours to copy the information on his computers and download his point of sale software information. But what Van Hoose says really concerns him is the fact that in addition to his accounting and sales records, the agents confiscated 13 years of 4473 forms and copied his firearm acquisition and disposition book.

Anyone who’s ever completed a 4473 form knows there’s no revenue or financial data there. That form is a record of a firearm purchase transaction used to facilitate a NICS background check and potentially trace a gun’s ownership down the road if it’s used in a crime. Gun dealers are required to keep those forms for at least 20 years.

The question then is, why would the IRS want customer transaction information? Van Hoose tells us the 4473 forms were not included on the list of financial records specifically listed on the warrant the IRS agents served him during the raid. Yet they took them anyway.

Concerned about handing over his firearm transaction records, Van Hoose told me he called Kirk Nelson, the ATF Area Supervisor in Helena, Montana with whom he said he’s always had a good working relationship. Nelson initially told him he didn’t have to turn over the 4473 forms as they don’t contain financial information and weren’t listed on the warrant. But after some further discussion with the IRS agents on the scene, Nelson changed his tune and told Van Hoose to hand them over.

Mr. Van Hoose estimates that his store generates between 1500 and 2000 4473 forms a year, and that’s been pretty consistent — aside from the COVID gun sales boom — since he started the business 13 years ago. That means the Internal Revenue Service now has tens of thousands of gun sales records for Highwood Creek’s customers. And again, the IRS agents took them despite the warrant not listing 4473 forms as part of the records they were looking for.

I called the agent in charge of the investigation to ask about the 4473s and got a call back from the IRS’s Karen Gurgel, a Special Agent and Public Information Officer in Denver. All she would say is that the raid was part of IRS “official business” and that Mr. Van Hoose got a receipt for all of the records that were taken on Wednesday.

Van Hoose confirms the receipt he received for the confiscated records includes the 4473 forms.

As you can probably imagine, Mr. Van Hoose is concerned about his customers’ individual information being in the hands of a government agency and he’s gotten a number of elected officials involved in trying to get answers. That includes Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Congressman Matt Rosendale who visited the store on Friday. Van Hoose is also attempting to enlist the help of Senator Steve Daines.

According to montanarightnow.com, Rep. Rosendale has written a letter to ATF Director Steven Dettelback and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel looking for answers.

“Under Director Dettelbach’s leadership of the ATF, a pattern of intimidation and harassment against hardworking Americans has emerged – Montanans will not tolerate these political witch hunts. I remind both Director Dettelbach and Commissioner Werfel that Congress has the power of the purse, and I will ensure that funding for these agencies is not weaponized against the American people,” Rosendale said in his letter.

Van Hoose had Highwood Creek Outfitters back up and running as usual on Thursday morning. He wants his customers to know that whatever prompted the IRS raid, he’s still very much in business.

He told us he intends to fight the IRS on this to recover his 4473s and he expects the legal bills to run into six figures. He’ll be establishing a GiveSendGo campaign to help raise funds to pay the attorneys. When that’s been established, we’ll add that information to this post for those who would like to help in the effort.

[montana]

The gun shop owner hasn't been charged with anything.

From the ATF...

ATF Inspections and Outcomes

Applicable Laws and Regulations: 18 U.S.C. § 923; 27 CFR § 478.23, 479.22

ATF may enter the premises and places of storage of any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector during business hours for the purposes of inspecting or examining the records, documents, ammunition and firearms and to ensure compliance with GCA recordkeeping requirements. Compliance inspections are conducted by ATF’s industry operations investigators (IOIs). Inspections are generally unannounced, occur during the licensee’s business hours, and may also include an inspection of off-site storage locations, if any. ATF is generally limited to the inspection of a licensee not more than once during any 12-month period. ATF, however, may contact a licensee at any time with respect to records maintained by the licensee that relate to a firearm involved in a criminal investigation. If a licensee refuses to comply by not letting the IOI enter the business premises or inspect their inventory and records, this conduct is considered a willful violation of the GCA and ATF will pursue revocation of the license. While the GCA does not define “willful,” Federal courts have held that a willful violation of the GCA’s regulations occurs when the FFL commits the violation with an intentional disregard of a known legal duty or with plain indifference to their legal obligations.

------

Except for limited permit holders, any ATF officer may, without a warrant, enter during business hours the premises, including places of storage, of any licensee or permittee for the purpose of inspecting or examining any records or documents required to be kept by the law and regulations and any explosive materials kept or stored at the premises. For inspection purposes, "business hours" includes hours during which business is actually conducted, not just those hours stated on license or permit applications.

Any licensee or permittee who refuses to permit the inspection or examination is subject to having his or her license or permit revoked, as well as to denial of an application to renew the license or permit.

For limited permit holders, an ATF officer may inspect the places of storage for explosive materials of either an applicant for a limited permit or at the time of renewal of such permit, but in no event shall such inspection occur more than once every three years.

[18 U.S.C. 843(b)(4), 18 U.S.C. 843(f)]

It takes 20 armed agents to do an inspection?? Like I stated before, banana republic..

[grayfox]

As I recall, this warrant was before business hours, and they took stuff, not just "examined". And it was IRS, not ATF.
So all the ATF rules being quoted, are not applicable to this case.
Warrants are issued for "probable cause" that a crime has been committed.
So, formally charged, no. But that a charge is at least "probable," you betcha.
And yeah, 20 heavily armed...??? Biggest part of an Army Platoon.
I'd bet they had "weapons of war" in their hands, eh?
O yeah, those speeches about "weapons of war", they only apply if civilian hands are involved...
They didn't go to this level of expense just to "intimidate" people.

[Double Naught Spy]

It also doesn't look like he is selling the store as he says that he is going to fight it.

I don't see where selling the store has anything to do with whether or not he will fight this.

So all the ATF rules being quoted, are not applicable to this case.
Warrants are issued for "probable cause" that a crime has been committed.
So, formally charged, no. But that a charge is at least "probable," you betcha.

You read the warrant?

-----------------------------

They didn't close down the business, revoke the license, or arrest anybody, yet. All I was showing was that there are times when the ATF can yank 4473s.

[jasper2408]

I don't see where selling the store has anything to do with whether or not he will fight this

You are correct. I stand corrected.

[LRRPF52]

The gun shop owner hasn't been charged with anything.

From the ATF...

ATF Inspections and Outcomes

Applicable Laws and Regulations: 18 U.S.C. § 923; 27 CFR § 478.23, 479.22

ATF may enter the premises and places of storage of any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector during business hours for the purposes of inspecting or examining the records, documents, ammunition and firearms and to ensure compliance with GCA recordkeeping requirements. Compliance inspections are conducted by ATF’s industry operations investigators (IOIs). Inspections are generally unannounced, occur during the licensee’s business hours, and may also include an inspection of off-site storage locations, if any. ATF is generally limited to the inspection of a licensee not more than once during any 12-month period. ATF, however, may contact a licensee at any time with respect to records maintained by the licensee that relate to a firearm involved in a criminal investigation. If a licensee refuses to comply by not letting the IOI enter the business premises or inspect their inventory and records, this conduct is considered a willful violation of the GCA and ATF will pursue revocation of the license. While the GCA does not define “willful,” Federal courts have held that a willful violation of the GCA’s regulations occurs when the FFL commits the violation with an intentional disregard of a known legal duty or with plain indifference to their legal obligations.

------

Except for limited permit holders, any ATF officer may, without a warrant, enter during business hours the premises, including places of storage, of any licensee or permittee for the purpose of inspecting or examining any records or documents required to be kept by the law and regulations and any explosive materials kept or stored at the premises. For inspection purposes, "business hours" includes hours during which business is actually conducted, not just those hours stated on license or permit applications.

Any licensee or permittee who refuses to permit the inspection or examination is subject to having his or her license or permit revoked, as well as to denial of an application to renew the license or permit.

For limited permit holders, an ATF officer may inspect the places of storage for explosive materials of either an applicant for a limited permit or at the time of renewal of such permit, but in no event shall such inspection occur more than once every three years.

[18 U.S.C. 843(b)(4), 18 U.S.C. 843(f)]

None of this is legitimate. ATF can’t empower IRS to seize 4473s since they are beyond the scope of the IRS’s intimidation and politically-charged targeting of the store.

This is 2 unconstitutional criminal agencies engaged in infringements against the people, nothing more.

We already know the ATF’s criminal racketeering history as enforcers for the Mafia from Prohibition Era to the present.

IRS is another odorous and offensive, unconstitutional gaggle of jack-booted criminals with badges.

You know why the IRS changed its name from the Revenue Bureau?

In 1952, after a series of politically damaging incidents of tax evasion and bribery among its own employees, the Bureau of Internal Revenue was reorganized under a plan put forward by President Truman, with the approval of Congress. The reorganization decentralized many functions to new district offices which replaced the collector's offices. Civil service directors were appointed to replace the politically appointed collectors of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Not long after, the bureau was renamed the Internal Revenue Service.[16]

Here’s the 16th Amendment in case you had any illusions the IRS was a legitimate agency constitutionally:

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

These guys are all criminals who need to be put in their places behind bars.

They cashed-in their American cards once they sold-out to the institutional traitors in DC vs the people.

[LRRPF52]

This is why I have always had a fundamental problem with the whole nature of FFLs.

I, as an American citizen wanting to exercise my rights and engage in specifically-protected commerce as it pertains to the Bill of Rights, find it extremely contradictory that in order to effectively do so, I must enter into a criminal conspiracy with an illegal and unconstitutional organized crime racket of enemies of the people, who were specifically tasked with violating the bill of rights by various listed infringements.

These infringements include:

* Suborning quasi-law enforcement functions to the store ownership in relation to customer relationships, interacting with them with some assumption of guilt
* Requiring the FFL to demand a sort of application process to exercise their basic rights
* Collection of personal data from customers, to include birth date, race, ethnicity, place of birth, State of residence, and a list of criminal matter questions
* Collection of their social security number
* Recording of the type of firearm being purchased, its caliber, and serial number
* Then begging addition permission from some unseen bureaucrats multiple States and time zones away
* Maintaining these records for any domestic or foreign usurper, dictator, or invader to exploit as part of tyranny or hostile military operations directed against the people
* These are all unconstitutional discriminatory, time-consuming, and excessive duties imposed on an FFL to perform.

There is something inherently wrong and un-American about this whole FFL system in the first place.

It does not pass the historical or constitutional standard of American law, and violates the rights of the people in so many ways.

The FFL system also prevents home-based inventors and designers from making new improvements to firearms, unless they submit to significant licensing fees and inspections from the same untrustworthy criminals with badges who have stolen innovative designs and illegally transferred them to cronies.

John Moses Browning would not have flourished under the current system I suspect.

[montana]

Like I said before, banana republic..Some animals are more equal than others..

https://www.theblaze.com/news/federal-pr...ing%20News

[LRRPF52]

Hunter had that plea deal arranged for him to avoid the focus on the bribery, treason, and money-laundering crimes he has been engaged in since 2014.

Putin had Elena Baturina (former First Lady of Moscow and human sex-trafficker) wire $3.5 million to Hunter’s and Chris Heinz’s (John Kerry’s stepson) shell company, Rosemont Seneca, in February 2014, as the Ukrainians were protesting in the streets for months over Putin’s puppet President, Viktor Yanukovych, who had signed onto Putin’s Russia-Eurasia Economic Pact in late 2013. Ukrainians had voted 79% in favor of establishing formal trade relations with the EU so they could grow Ukraine’s economy, then were slapped in the face by Putin’s Boyar, Yanukovych and the Russia-Eurasian Pact.

Burisma was the Ukrainian energy company where Yanukovych placed the ecology minister, Mykola Zlochevsky, over the company so they could pilfer millions and launder the money into Putin’s accounts in Cyprus, Panama, and Switzerland. You start to see one of the reasons why Putin liked to have Yanukovych as his puppet in Ukraine.

Yanukovych was forced to leave after 4 months of protests with the Euromaiden movement, so then voila, Wagner mercenaries and Russian separatists of the Night Wolves motorcycle gang began killing people in Donbas. Putin then sent in Russian forces into Ukraine and annexed Crimea, claiming that Ukrainians were murdering innocent ethnic Russians in Donbas. It was all a false flag, like they did in Georgia in 2008.

Hunter Biden then was placed on the board of Burisma in May, 2014, where he collected an $86,666.66 monthly salary and received millions in bribes from Mykola Zlochevsky.

Obama flew to England to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron in September, 2014, to instruct/coerce him to shut down MI6 and MI5’s investigations into Zlochevsky, who was living in exile in Monaco to avoid prosecution from Vitaly Yarema, the Ukrainian chief prosecutor who was appointed by Poroshenko. Obama also pressured David Cameron into releasing Zlochevsky’s $23 million being held-up by the UK courts.

Vitaly Yarema was replaced with Viktor Shokin in 2015, upon which time Vice President Biden bullied Poroshenko into firing Viktor Shokin because of Shokin’s investigation into Burisma, Zlochevsky, and the embezzlement and money-laundering ring for Putin.

These are the utterly-corrupt traitors working for Putin and China who now control the IRS Gestapo in the US, who are now targeting FFLs after years of attacks on political opponents. Remember Obama’s IRS and Lois Lerner who was held in contempt of Congress for her weaponized IRS in the 2012 election cycle?

This is how communists behave, not Americans.

[jasper2408]

Hunter had that plea deal arranged for him to avoid the focus on the bribery, treason, and money-laundering crimes he has been engaged in since 2014.

Not to worry! The Republicans in the House of Reps sent them a strongly-worded letter.

Probably asking where their money was.

[Lemonaid]

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us (87,000 new armed IRS agents?)
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: (I have never consented to be taxed, how about you?)
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.

I would like to know what red lines have to be crossed before it would be our duty to throw off such Government. The train of abuses and usurpations is pretty long all ready.

[grayfox]

Kind of scary, how applicable those words of what, nigh 250 years ago, accurately reflect the sitrep on the ground today. The pronouncement of then is also the prophecy of today.

[LRRPF52]

I often think about the Founders transported to our present times, trying to explain to them the current state of affairs.

Me: “Mr. President, the current White House occupant and his son have been engaged in many years of taking bribes from and affording liberties to our enemies, but I must say that many previous Presidents have done the same. They have a rather open money-laundering scheme in place where the President’s son and brother act as intermediaries using shell companies to receive millions of dollars in foreign bribes.”

Washington: “What financial sums are you referencing with these bribes?”

“Well, just one of them that came from the Russian former First Lady of Moscow and her international prostitution business was for $3.5 million dollars, which would be 101,273 dollars and 48 cents in 1789. The other bribes amount to at least $5 million. The Chinese have opened up open spending accounts for the President’s brother. These date back to the days when the President was in Senate and later Vice President. Meanwhile the rest of us live under constant threat of investigation by the IRS.”

Washington: “IRS?”

Me: “Oh yeah. Remember how you and the Continental Congress talked about the evils of taxation without representation and established the foundation for very limited taxation in Article I, Section 8? Well, under influence from the largest financial institutions in 1909-1913, they convinced Congress to draft and pass the 16th Amendment, which basically threw those restrictions on taxation without representation to the wind. The bill literally says Congress can levy taxes for whatever they want, whenever they want, with total disregard for the census, enumerated powers, or any apportionment among the States. Many States rejected the proposed amendment and refused to ratify it. They used the Revenue Bureau to enforce collection, which was initially only directed at businesses and high earners, but eventually expanded to cover everyone. They also stopped printing US Notes from the Treasury, and let these banks issue their own notes, which are lent to the United States with usury, which is of course a massive debt placed on the backs of the citizenry."

"After a series of scandalous and criminal misconduct by Revenue Bureau senior employees, including embezzlement and tax evasion, they re-named the Revenue Bureau the Internal Revenue Service to make it sound more palatable, then pretended it was as American as your Mount Vernon Apple Pie. The IRS regularly makes examples of people by raiding their homes and business like King George’s police used to do, armed like a military force. They even have been weaponized against political opponents to sitting Presidents, denying tax-exempt status for registered political action groups and auditing them for nothing more than dissent. Just a few weeks ago, they showed up to the door of a journalist and whistle-blower as he was testifying about criminal conduct of the current Justice Department before a Congressional Oversight Committee.”

Washington: “Justice Department?”

Me: “Yeah....remember that part-time Attorney General position you guys established in 1789 to provide legal advice to the President and Congress? Well, it grew just a smidgen.”

Washington: “I’m inferring from your tone a bit of sarcasm. Tell me, along with all these developments and permutations, what advances in weaponry have been made over the years? Show me where I may gain access to them.”

[Lemonaid]

LRRPF52, your history acumen is most impressive.