{"id":2356749,"date":"2024-10-18T14:39:10","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T18:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/revealed-how-irs-panicked-over-trump-stimulus-check-signature-gambit-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-18T14:40:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T18:40:48","slug":"revealed-how-irs-panicked-over-trump-stimulus-check-signature-gambit-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/revealed-how-irs-panicked-over-trump-stimulus-check-signature-gambit-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: How IRS panicked over Trump stimulus check signature gambit &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frevealed-how-irs-panicked-over-trump-stimulus-check-signature-gambit-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2356749&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses how the IRS experienced internal turmoil when the Trump administration mandated that former President Donald Trump&#8217;s signature be printed on COVID-19 stimulus checks as part of the $2.2 trillion\u2064 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, \u2063and Economic\u200c Security Act (CARES Act) \u2063passed in March 2020. The move aimed to provide\u200b $1,200 checks to around 80 million taxpayers. Documents obtained through a Bloomberg Freedom of Information \u2062Act request revealed that IRS \u2064officials were concerned about the\u200d legality of this \u200crequest and its\u2064 potential politicization, fearing it could \u2063violate the \u200bHatch Act, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-attorney-committed-severe-violation-running-for-loudoun-school-board-as-democrat-congressman\/\" title=\"DOJ Attorney Committed \u2018Severe\u2019 Violation Running For Loudoun School Board As Democrat: Congressman\">restricts political activities<\/a> of\u2064 federal employees. Despite the chaos and urgency,\u200d the IRS successfully sought legal counsel \u2063and confirmed\u2063 that including Trump&#8217;s signature was permissible. The \u200bsituation highlighted the unprecedented nature of a president&#8217;s name appearing on \u2064IRS disbursements and raised questions about the IRS&#8217;s independence from political influence during a national crisis.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Revealed: How IRS panicked over Trump stimulus check signature gambit<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1839284\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>New documents showed how the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/irs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Internal Revenue Service\">IRS<\/a> panicked after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Trump administration\">Trump administration<\/a> sought to put former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump's\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> signature on COVID-19 stimulus checks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In March 2020, Congress passed the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, providing $1,200 stimulus checks to roughly 80 million taxpayers. Chaos ensued when an order from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked that Trump&rsquo;s name be added to the checks.<\/p>\n<p>While criticized by many Democratic figures, new documents obtained through a <em>Bloomberg<\/em> Freedom of Information Act request found that the IRS internally panicked over the order, frantically trying to figure out whether or not Trump&rsquo;s request would violate any laws.<\/p>\n<p>Given the three-week deadline to send out the first round, IRS personnel scrambled for legal guidance to figure out whether the move was legal. The 2020 checks were the first time in U.S. history that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-taking-regeneron-drug-remdesivir-therapy-for-coronavirus-diagnosis-ex-wh-doctor-explains\/\" title=\"Trump taking Regeneron drug, Remdesivir therapy for coronavirus diagnosis: ex-WH doctor explains\">president&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s name appeared on an IRS expenditure.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Did Counsel push back on this? Did anyone raise the concern about how this makes the IRS appear?&rdquo; one IRS official wrote to then-IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig and others at the agency in an email obtained by <em>Bloomberg<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The primary concern of some IRS agents was that the inclusion of the signature was a political move, making the IRS a party to a politicization effort. They feared the inclusion could violate the Hatch Act.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The one thing I want to document and get for us on the IRS side is a position from&rdquo; ethics officials &ldquo;that the IRS is not violating the HATCH act,&rdquo; Kenneth Corbin, a wage and investment commissioner, said in another email. &ldquo;I imagine we want this cover for all parties at the IRS.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The IRS took the unprecedented step of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christian-parents-win-in-court-after-school-labels-6-year-old-son-potentially-transphobic\/\" title=\"Christian Parents Win in Court After School Labels 6-Year-Old Son Potentially \u201cTransphobic\u201d\">seeking legal counsel<\/a>, given by Mark Kaizen, a top Treasury Department lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>The inclusion of Trump&rsquo;s name was found to be legal and able to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>Trump was roundly criticized at the time for politicizing a pandemic that shuttered the global economy and was killing thousands of people. The CARES Act funds that allowed the $1,200 checks to get mailed out as a way to stanch the economic bleeding left by people being forced to stay home was a bipartisan effort. But by slapping his name on the checks, Trump ensured everyone who received one would associate the stimulus with him.<\/p>\n<p>The plan worked and inspired Trump to call for more stimulus checks, bucking the fiscal hawks in his party and allying with Democrats who were calling for $2,000 payments that would continue to blow out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-judge-grants-gop-lawmaker-standing-to-sue-biden-administration-over-unrwa-funding-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Texas judge grants GOP lawmaker standing to sue Biden administration over UNRWA funding - Washington Examiner\">federal government&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s pocketbook. <\/p>\n<p>But voters remember seeing Trump&rsquo;s name four years later and might be persuaded that he is looking out for them more than Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Voters tell pollsters they tend to trust Trump more than Harris on economic issues, and though the former president&rsquo;s skeptics insist his messaging is mostly &ldquo;misinformation&rdquo; about the economy, his signature next to dollar signs is seared in their memory. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You hear it from a lot of people because that&rsquo;s what Trump is running on, with people thinking that he was the one that got them those checks,&rdquo; Dr. La&rsquo;Toshia Patman, a volunteer for a door-knocking organization in Detroit, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3190277\/detroit-democrats-harris-clinton-michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1839284\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1839284\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IRS panicked over Trump&#8217;s signature on stimulus checks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2356751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Trump-hurricane-milton-scaled-1024x684.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[8362,43300,43299,3634],"class_list":["post-2356749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-irs","tag-signature-gambit","tag-stimulus-check","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Trump-hurricane-milton-scaled-1024x684.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2356749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2356751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2356749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2356749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2356749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}