The Internal Revenue Service leaked the personal information of a top commissioner to media outlets, including Fox News, which initially incorrectly reported she had been fired, in what amounts to a “vindictive, retaliatory” campaign against the official, according to a federal lawsuit.
“This behavior is the epitome of unprofessionalism that has permeated the current leadership,” the suit filed on Thursday in Washington. claims.
In the complaint, Holly Paz, an IRS commissioner who oversees the Large Business and International Division, alleges that unspecified officials within the IRS or its parent agency, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, shared private employment information with news outlets on multiple occasions.
In late July, according to the suit, Paz was put on paid administrative leave, though “no reason was provided for this action,” and the decision was soon reported in Bloomberg Tax, which quoted a “person familiar with the situation.”
By early September, the suit claims, the IRS had given Paz a notice proposing her removal from federal service entirely and giving her until mid-October to respond.
On September 9, Fox News published an article with the initial headline “IRS fires top aide linked to Obama-era Tea Party targeting scandal,” which quoted sources claiming Paz had been terminated, according to the suit. (Fox later amended the story and added an editor’s note clarifying Paz remains with the agency.)
The Independent has contacted the IRS, Fox News, and Bloomberg Tax for comment.
Paz, who has been with the agency for nearly 20 years, has been the subject of recent criticisms from some Republicans and aligned groups on Capitol Hill in recent months.
Critics have cited the official’s involvement in a Biden-era initiative aimed at tax shelters and Paz’s past work with Lois Lerner, a former IRS official who resigned amid a 2013 scandal over whether the tax agency unduly scrutinized conservative tax-exempt groups.
Lerner later resigned, and the IRS settled a pair of related lawsuits over the scandal and restructured its tax-exempt division. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has found the IRS flagged both the Tea Party and some progressive groups for scrutiny.
Thursday’s suit from the IRS official claims she’s being punished for “allegations that date back nearly two decades and involve matters that had been previously investigated and resolved in her favor.”
The IRS suit comes just over a week after a trio of senior FBI agents sued the bureau, alleging they had been removed due to inappropriate partisan pressures from the White House.
