IRS sidelines dozens of top IT officials seen as possible ‘blockers’ to immigration enforcement data-sharing
CNN
As many as 50 senior IT professionals at the Internal Revenue Service, including some of the agency’s top cybersecurity experts, were placed on administrative leave Friday as the Trump administration finalizes controversial plans to share taxpayer data with federal immigration authorities, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
As many as 50 senior IT professionals at the Internal Revenue Service, including some of the agency’s top cybersecurity experts, were placed on administrative leave Friday as the Trump administration finalizes controversial plans to share taxpayer data with federal immigration authorities, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The dozens of IRS employees who were placed on leave Friday evening saw their access to the agency’s computer systems immediately cut off, according to the sources. Some of the dozens of employees tried to go into the office Monday morning but were rebuffed, one source said. The sidelining of IT officials comes as access to IRS data systems has been a point of contention between career federal employees and the Department of Government Efficiency, though it’s unclear if the employees were put on leave as part of downsizing or in connection with the data sharing disputes. CNN reported last week that the IRS is close to reaching an unprecedented agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to share location information of suspected undocumented immigrants as the administration works to ramp up deportations. That has sparked a legal battle over the information that’s typically confidential. The so-called “separation email” sent Friday, which was obtained by CNN, didn’t include an explanation. The email stated their leave status was “effective immediately” and that “access to agency IT systems will be suspended, and you should not attempt to use them.” Two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN they believe the IT employees may have been targeted for pushing back on some of the sensitive taxpayer data that DOGE is seeking as part of the deportation efforts. The source said some of DOGE’s requests have not been in line with the privacy and disclosure laws that impose strict rules for when IRS data can be shared.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva said Friday she was pepper-sprayed and pushed around during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Tucson, Arizona, a claim that the Department of Homeland Security swiftly disputed.
The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east of Venezuela – the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers on Thursday according to two sources with direct knowledge of his remarks.
The first week of testimony in Brian Walshe’s murder trial in Dedham, Massachusetts, has come to an end. The jury heard from about two dozen witnesses called by the commonwealth in its case against Walshe as prosecutors work to prove he killed his wife, Ana Walshe, around New Year’s Day in 2023.
The US Army officially stood up a new command on Friday to oversee the Army’s activities in the Western Hemisphere in the latest signal of increasing focus on homeland defense.
A former high-level Drug Enforcement agent was indicted on charges of conspiring to traffic drugs and launder millions of dollars for a Mexican cartel.
A federal judge in Florida ordered the unsealing of grand jury transcripts and other records in the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein granting the Justice Department’s request.
The Indiana House approved new congressional maps designed to hand Republicans all nine of the state’s US House seats on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown next week in the state Senate.
Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla said last-minute interference from US President Donald Trump in the country’s closely fought election had damaged his chances of winning and left him trailing as vote counting dragged on.
Vice President JD Vance said he and second lady Usha Vance are largely amused by the online chatter dissecting their marriage, including a recent spate of headlines over photos of her without a wedding ring.
During interviews with the FBI, the suspect arrested in the pipe bomb probe told investigators that he believed the 2020 election was stolen, providing perhaps the first indication of a possible motive for the bombs placed near the DNC and RNC headquarters, people briefed on the matter said.
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