Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accused the Biden administration of rushing a tax audit against him and his family, claiming it’s politically motivated.
On Monday, he shared a screenshot on social media of what he described as an IRS notice addressed to him and his wife, alleging that they owe $33,558.16 in unpaid federal income taxes. The document reportedly demanded immediate payment to prevent penalties.
Hegseth made his outrage known on the social media platform X, stating, “Of course the outgoing Biden IRS rushed an ‘audit’ of the incoming SecDef. Total sham. The party of ‘norms’ and ‘decency’ strikes again. We will never back down.”
During his recent nomination hearing, Hegseth had faced scrutiny over his tax filings. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, had questioned him about irregularities in his financial records stemming from his time working at two veterans support nonprofit organizations.
Of course the outgoing Biden IRS rushed an “audit” of the incoming SecDef. Total sham.
The party of “norms” and “decency” strikes again. We will never back down. pic.twitter.com/coW1UpFPrD
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 17, 2025
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers seem poised to examine this situation closely. Responding to Hegseth’s post, Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), commented, “They love the low blows.” The comment suggests skepticism regarding the timing and intent of the audit.
Addressing concerns surrounding DOGE’s role, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller spoke with Fox News on Monday, highlighting the administration’s commitment to restoring trust in the IRS.
Miller reassured viewers by saying, “I give you my word … the only thing that is happening here is restoring neutrality, ethics, accountability to the IRS to make sure at the payment level, at the systems level, that we can identify signs and warning symptoms that large-scale fraud is taking place, that unfair politicization is taking place, that unfair targeting is taking place.”
These steps, he added, are aimed at ensuring taxpayer dollars are secure and reinforcing public confidence in the system.
Miller also mentioned heightened efforts by DOGE, noting, “The federal government doesn’t catch a ‘tiny fraction’ of the fraud that takes place.”
He pointed out that gaining access to critical systems like the IRS’s Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) and the Treasury Department’s payment system was necessary to combat large-scale tax fraud and uphold integrity in government finance.
Underscoring DOGE’s purpose, Miller stated, “When we talk about DOGE, who are we talking about? We are talking about staff that serves the president of the United States, that is appointed by the president, that reports to the White House.”
He contrasted this with current practices, where career civil servants operate with limited accountability.
Adding to the intrigue, Musk hinted at a developing interest in Fort Knox, the heavily guarded site of the country’s gold reserves.
Musk posted on X, “Looking for the gold at Fort Knox …” and followed up by sharing a post from Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who revealed he had been denied access to the site.
Musk echoed Lee’s concern, questioning, “Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox? Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not. That gold is owned by the American public! We want to know if it’s still there.”
Supporting this call for transparency, Senator Rand Paul joined the conversation, replying to Musk directly on X, “nope. Let’s do it,” in reference to Musk’s questions about whether the reserves have been reviewed annually.
All I see from of all the past administrations is corruption, none of them did anything to correct the fraud perpetrated on the taxpaying public to the tune of trillions and trillions of $.
I would like to know how many in congress owe back taxes ?
Yelling and screaming, threatening, huffing and puffing . All the activities of a political party at a crossroads. The demonRAT communist party has no leader except for maybe Barry the Fairy that created the Deep State as a weapon against the American people. Maybe it’s time to start looking in depth at the puppet master of Faux Joe for the past 12 years.
My questions are: 1) was the audit accurate or inflated? Does he owe that much? 2) was the info about the audit leaked timed to hurt his confirmation? 3) If either of these two results in Hegseth’s favored answers, will anything be done to the perpetrators?
I watched a show on the Gold at Ft Knox it hasn’t been counted since the 70S. They only allowed just a few Congress Men to see the storage vaults, I can’t remember how many vaults there were but the Gold Bars go from the floor to the ceiling. Each bar weighs 27 LBS, I think Gold is around $3000.00 an ounce.